The Iowa State basketball team looks to advance in this year's March Madness, by defeating Tennessee in an upcoming game. Iowa State is in the Sweet 16 under head coach T.J. Otzelberger, due to their strong defense. Cyclones star Joshua Jefferson, who has been hurt, is getting an encouraging update.

“Sources: Iowa State's Joshua Jefferson (ankle) is “continuing to progress” after suffering an injury last Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament,” college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein posted to X, formerly Twitter.

Jefferson is one of the leaders of the Iowa State club. He is averaging 16.4 points per game, and 7.4 rebounds. Iowa State basketball is one of three Big 12 schools left in the NCAA tournament. The other two are Arizona and Houston.

Iowa State basketball is a no. 2 seed in this year's March Madness.

Iowa State hopes to reach a Final Four under T.J. Otzelberger

Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger watches his team play the Houston Cougars during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum.
Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Otzelberger inherited an Iowa State program years ago that had been struggling. He immediately turned the school back into a winner. He is looking for his first Final Four appearance as head coach at Iowa State.

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While Iowa State has struggled at the free-throw line this season, the Cyclones are playing excellent defense.

“For us, we take so much pride in the habits and the things we do every single day, and really proud of our guys for how we pressured the ball, how we rebounded the ball and how we shared it and played for one another. Those are things that we really strive to be elite and have excellence in, and our guys really showed up in a major way in those areas for us today,” Otzelberger said after beating Kentucky in the Round of 32, per 247 Sports.

Otzelberger says his team continues to play for each other, even without Jefferson.

“These guys are relentless competitors. They work for it every day. They're connected defensively and offensively. They're relentless. Their spirit, their desire to win, competitive endurance when things get hard. They're an unbelievable group,” Otzelberger added.

Iowa State plays Tennessee in the Sweet 16 on Friday.