Iowa State Draws Nevada in First Round of the NCAA Tournament

Steve Prohm and company will begin their quest for an NCAA title in Milwaukee on Thursday. Iowa State was selected as the 5-seed in the Midwest Region after their Big XII Tournament title. They’ll match up against the Nevada Wolfpack, who has a record of 28-6, and is coming off a Mountain West Conference Tournament title after holding off Colorado State 79-71.

The region also features Big XII rival Kansas as the 1-seed. If Iowa State can defeat Nevada, they will match up with Purdue or Vermont. If the Cyclones can move on to the Sweet Sixteen, they will travel to Hilton South in Kansas City once again.

QUICK ANALYSIS OF Nevada

Conference: Mountain West

Record: 28-6

Head Coach: Eric Musselman

Nevada plays similar to Iowa State, as they do not have a player over 6’ 8”. They allow just over 70 points a game defensively, and score 80 points per game on offense, so the Cyclones will need to defend their quickness and ball handlers to slow the pace. Nevada also shares the ball well, averaging 16 assists per game.

The primary focus on defense for the Cyclones will be Nevada’s leading scorer, Marcus Marshall. He averages 19.9 points per game, shoots over 38 percent from the 3-point line, and notches more than 3 assists per game. If Nevada gets him going, the Wolfpack are as tough as anyone in the country.

Former Cyclone Hallice Cooke is a student assistant for the Wolfpack. He transferred from Iowa State after the 2015-2016 season.

Game day information for this first round match up will be announced later today. Stay tuned for more NCAA Tournament coverage.