Led by a deep, experienced crop of guards and a lot of defensive-oriented bigs, Iowa State basketball was supposed to be a national title contender this season. The Cyclones held their own through a gauntlet of a Big 12 schedule before losing to BYU in the Big 12 quarterfinals.

Now, Iowa State's title hopes have taken a massive hit. Star guard Keshon Gilbert is out for the rest of the season with a muscle strain, according to head coach TJ Otzelberger.

“With Keshon, we decided that he needs to focus on his rehab and getting his body back right,” Otzelberger said, per Cyclone Fanatic. “He won't be abatable moving forward.”

Otzelberger later clarified that Gilbert will not return no matter how far Iowa State advances in the tournament.

Gilbert has been battling through the injury for the better part of the last month or so, trying to play in some games and missing out on others. He played in Iowa State's first game in Kansas City against Cincinnati before exiting early and sitting out against BYU. Now, Otzelberger and company will have to navigate through the March Madness bracket without him.

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Gilbert's starting backcourt-mate, Tamin Lipsey, should be good to go after injuring his groin in the Big 12 Tournament against Cincinnati.

Losing Gilbert is a massive blow for an Iowa State team that relies on his rim pressure a lot on the offensive end of the floor. He is the second-leading scorer on the team at 13.4 points per game. He is one of the best drivers of the basketball in the country and the Cyclones will have trouble scoring on the interior without him on the floor.

This injury likely moves star scorer Curtis Jones into the starting lineup, and will force Jones to carry a massive burden offensively. The Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year is an elite shooter and put that on full display against BYU, scoring 31 points while hitting seven 3-pointers. It will likely take a similar effort from him game in and game out for this Iowa State basketball team to make a deep run with Gilbert sidelined.

Iowa State was drawn as a No. 3 seed on Selection Sunday and will open its tournament against Lipscomb on Friday.