Iowa State Basketball Star Predicted To Play Against Tennessee in NCAA Tournament

The Iowa State Cyclones have looked fantastic during their first two games of the 2026 NCAA Tournament, defeating the Tennessee State Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats convincingly.

They are now in the Sweet Sixteen, where they will be facing off against their second consecutive SEC foe in the Tennessee Volunteers. Of course, the biggest storyline heading into the game is the status of Joshua Jefferson.

The star forward suffered a nasty ankle sprain less than three minutes into the game against Tennessee State. He needed help to the back, where he was seen on crutches and eventually emerged back to the bench in a walking boot.

He missed the remainder of that game and was sidelined against Kentucky, using a scooter to get around. His status is certainly in doubt, but injury analyst Marty Jaramillo of CBS Sports believes that he will be back in the lineup against the Volunteers on March 27.

Injury analyst predicts Joshua Jefferson will return to lineup

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson being helped off the court. — Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) is helped off of the court after suffering an apparent injury to his left leg while shooting a layup against Tennessee State Tigers forward Jalen Pitre (not pictured) during the first half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

Jefferson was set to undergo an MRI after the team left St. Louis, the location of their first two games. Unless something arises during those tests that is unexpected, Jaramillo thinks the Cyclones will be getting their star back.

"Having an MRI today, barring any hidden findings in that MRI, I expect him to play,” he said during an appearance on CBS Sports HQ.

While some fans are certainly disappointed about the time slot that Iowa State received for their Sweet 16 game because they will be playing the last game of the round on March 27 with a start time of approximately 10:15 pm ET/9:15 pm CT, it is the best slot to improve the odds of Jefferson returning to play.

It provides him with the longest amount of recovery time, with the injury being suffered a week prior.

"Having an MRI today, barring any hidden findings in that MRI, I expect him to play."

Injury analyst @mjsportspt on Joshua Jefferson's chances to play in Sweet 16. pic.twitter.com/gAXgwEyVxo
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 23, 2026

Jaramillo has an extensive background in sports medicine and strength and conditioning, but is going strictly off what he has seen in the videos and his knowledge of how the body would react to such an injury.

Unless he has seen Jefferson’s test results, it is difficult to make an exact prediction about his timeline for return because the severity is unknown. However, it is certainly encouraging to hear that, in his expert opinion, this doesn’t appear to be too serious an injury, which keeps some hope that he can return to the court.

It also lines up with the update that college basketball insider Jon Rothstein shared. According to his sources, Jefferson is “continuing to progress” after being injured in the Round of 64.

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.

DNP in last game.

Averages 16.4 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 4.8 APG.

Cyclones face Tennessee on Friday in the Sweet 16.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 24, 2026

Getting Jefferson back in any capacity would be a massive boost for the Cyclones. His teammates have stepped up in his absence, but their ceiling is much higher when he is in the lineup.