Coach TJ Otzellberger and the Iowa State basketball squad have exceeded expectations en route to the NCAA Tournament. This March Madness contender just came off a big Big 12 tournament win, was in a tight race with Houston for the regular season, and has players peaking at the right time. After the Cyclones tore apart the Cougars in the final, one would think they'd get rewarded. Instead, they'll have to face some tough opponents who are also big name tournament winners.
Selection Sunday results are out and the Iowa State basketball program's seeding was not as most people expected. They were not deemed the strongest two-seed in the nation. This meant that they were seeded in the East Region instead. It will then leave them to duke out with the strongest conference champions of the year: Big 12's UConn, Big Ten's Illinois, and SEC's Auburn.
Iowa State's placement raises eyebrows
This bold move by the selection committee raised eyebrows and prompted some quite unsavory reactions.
“Iowa State, in many eyes the strongest 2 seed, gets paired with the strongest 1 seed. Already some terrible bracketing. This is ONLY one region,” Matt Zemek of USA Today said.
Some pundits were also quick to point out how the NCAA tournament's selection committee has some issues with non-conference scheduling. “Iowa State gets a No. 2 seed. The selection committee likes to make a point about non-conference scheduling. So, this isn't too shocking,” Nicole Auerbach of The Athletic wrote.
Others were also questioning the strength of the East Region despite having the strongest first seed in the dance. “So for being the “No. 1 overall seed,” UConn gets rewarded by being assigned to a region with Iowa State, which had a good case for being a 1-seed, and Illinois, a top-10 KenPom team? Some reward,” Pat Fitzmaurice declared.
Nonetheless, an impressive outing in the Big 12 tournament gives them a lot of momentum. Coach TJ Otzellberger is more than prepared with the health, rotations, and schemes of the team. Meanwhile, Milan Momcilovic and Keshon Gilbert along with the other Cyclones are surely more than ready to ravage March Madness after putting up big numbers in the conference tournament.
Will the Iowa State basketball program defy all odds and be the darlings of the dance?
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