{"id":182536,"date":"2026-03-22T08:55:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T12:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=182536"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:01:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:01:12","slug":"can-iowa-state-cyclones-slip-past-the-kentucky-wildcats-without-joshua-jefferson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/03\/22\/can-iowa-state-cyclones-slip-past-the-kentucky-wildcats-without-joshua-jefferson\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Iowa State Cyclones Slip Past The Kentucky Wildcats Without Joshua Jefferson?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Iowa State Cyclones entered the NCAA Tournament<\/a> to reach at least the Elite Eight, something the program has only done once. Now, the question is whether the second-seeded Cyclones can advance to the Sweet 16 without star forward Joshua Jefferson?\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Can Iowa State Slip Past Kentucky Without Joshua Jefferson?<\/h2>\n

According to Jeff Goodman of Field of 68,<\/a> Jefferson is unlikely to play when Iowa State (<\/a>28-7) faces the seventh-seeded Kentucky Wildcats<\/a> (22-13)\u00a0 in a Midwest Region second-round matchup in St. Louis (Mo.) Sunday afternoon.\u00a0 Jefferson sprained his ankle two and a half minutes into the Cyclones 108-74 victory over 15th-seeded East Tennessee State on Friday night.<\/p>\n

“Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson (ankle) is unlikely to play tomorrow against Kentucky, source told <\/span>The Field Of 68,” Goodman tweeted. “<\/span>Jefferson will continue to receive treatment before the game, but the chances of him being able to play against the Wildcats on Sunday are slim.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Jefferson showed up to Iowa State’s practice at the Enterprise Center earlier today with a boot on his ankle. On the positive side, On3’s Bradley Truax<\/a> reported that the X-rays came back negative.\u00a0 Jefferson couldn’t put weight on his leg following the injury and had to be helped to the locker room. He is officially listed as questionable on the NCAA’s injury repor<\/a>t.<\/p>\n

Jefferson, who finished with two points and one rebound, scored on a coast-to-coast layup to put Iowa State up 5-3 when he went down with the injury. Despite being without the 2025-26 All-American, the Cyclones coasted to a victory over outmanned ETSU as Killyan Toure<\/a> posted his first career double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds while Nate Heise<\/a> pumped in a season-high 22 points off the bench.<\/p>\n

Iowa State is enjoying one of its best seasons in program history. The Cyclones tied their highest ranking ever in the AP Poll (No.2) earlier this year, and their 28 wins are third on the school record. Additionally, if the Cyclones earn one victory, they will guarantee themselves a top-5 winning percentage.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Jeff Curry, Imagn Images<\/p>\n

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How Will Jefferson’s Absence Affect The Cyclones?<\/h3>\n

Iowa State ranks in the top 20 nationally in offensive (17th) and defensive (5th) efficiency. The Cyclones, who average 82.5 points a contest, are an outstanding shooting team. They are one of the top passing teams, averaging 17.2 assists, and connect on 49.1% of their field goal attempts and 38.9% of their 3-pointers, while averaging 9.1 treys per game.<\/p>\n

The Cyclones get after it. The Cyclones limit opponents to 65.4 points per game, which is 13th-best in the country. Their best attributes are forcing turnovers and not fouling.<\/p>\n

A big reason for the Cyclones’ success this season has been their health. Coach TJ Otzelberger<\/a> uses just seven players, and they have missed a combined five games — Tamin Lipsey<\/a> missed three, and Dominykas Petras<\/a> sat out two.\u00a0 The Cyclones have won all five of those contests that the pair combined to miss.<\/p>\n

While Milan Momcilovic<\/a> is Iowa State’s top shooter and scorer (17.1 points per game), Jefferson is the Cyclones’ best player and one of the two players who initiate the offense. Jefferson is the primary creator for the Cyclones and an efficient three-level scorer. He also creates problems for opposing teams with his unique skill set and size, standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 240 pounds, and is a good offensive rebounder.<\/p>\n

More significantly, Jefferson anchors the Cyclones’ defense, which thrives on physicality and switching. Jefferson can guard the two through five. He is also a strong defensive rebounder who erases possessions and prevents second\u2011chance points.<\/p>\n

For the season, Jefferson averages 16.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in 31 minutes over 35 appearances. He also makes 1.1 threes and has produced 10 double-doubles, along with two triple-doubles, with shooting splits of 47.1\/34.5\/70.0.<\/p>\n

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How Will TJ Otzelberger Try To Compensate For Being Without Jefferson?<\/h3>\n

While Jefferson has yet to miss a game in his two seasons at Iowa State, the Cyclones have been stagnant when he sits. Rebounding also becomes a concern, especially on the defensive end, against Kentucky’s big frontcourt. The Cyclones, who are a fantastic offensive rebounding club, are a +5.0 on the boards for the season, while the Wildcats have a +3.0 margin. However, the Wildcats are vulnerable on offense.<\/p>\n

Additionally, depth becomes an issue for the Cyclones. Otzelberger, who is 123-52 in his five seasons in Ames (IA), will likely go with a three-guard starting lineup, thus giving Heise his fourth start of the campaign. Kentucky also uses a three-guard lineup.<\/p>\n

If Jefferson is sidelined, Lipsey will have to become more involved offensively. Lipsey, who is having a career season, ultimately becomes the lead initiator and facilitator. However, Otzelberger will likely rely on Heise and Toure to create. However, if the Cyclones are going to get by the Wildcats, Momcilovic will have to get hot from deep.<\/p>\n

Iowa State’s defense becomes sticky without Jefferson. Not only is rebounding a problem, but the Cyclones also aren’t as good switching on that end without him. Also, the Wildcats will be able to target Momcilovic, who is by far and away the Cyclones’ worst defender. While Lipsey can create chaos for opposing ballhandlers, he will have a tough matchup against Denzel Aberdeen<\/a>, who is four inches taller than Lipsey.\u00a0 Also, Pleta and fellow freshman Jamarion Batemon<\/a> struggle defensively.<\/p>\n

Despite potentially being without Jefferson, Iowa State still has a good chance of getting past Kentucky. Iowa State rolled past Syracuse and Creighton without Tipsey. However, there are concerns, as Kentucky doesn’t turn the ball over and rebounds well. Plus, Otega Oweh<\/a> can take over the game, and the Cats are efficient inside the paint as well as get to the free-throw line about 20 times a game.<\/p>\n

With Jefferson, I have the Cyclones as eight-point favorites. Without him, the game becomes a toss-up. Best bet is over 145.5 points.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Iowa State Cyclones entered the NCAA Tournament to reach at least the Elite Eight, something the program has only done once. Now, the question is whether the second-seeded Cyclones can advance to the Sweet 16 without star forward Joshua Jefferson?\u00a0 Can Iowa State Slip Past Kentucky Without Joshua Jefferson? According to Jeff Goodman of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":182641,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,773,3],"tags":[50402,776,832],"class_list":["post-182536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-college-basketball","category-news","tag-iowa-state-cycliones","tag-kentucky-wildcats","tag-ncaa-tournament"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=182536"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":182645,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/182536\/revisions\/182645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/182641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=182536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=182536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=182536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}