Joshua Jefferson Reveals How Close He Was To Play Against Tennessee

The Iowa State Cyclones 2025-26 men’s basketball season came to an end with their loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

It was a disappointing turn of events for a team that has proven to consistently be one of the best in the country throughout the campaign. However, without their star forward Joshua Jefferson, they ran out of steam against a physical, oversized Tennessee squad.

Jefferson suffered a low ankle injury not even three minutes into the team’s Round of 64 game against the Tennessee State Tigers. The Cyclones were able to overcome his absence in that matchup and against the Kentucky Wildcats in the Round of 32, but he was missed dearly against the Volunteers.

He worked tirelessly to put himself in a position to get on the court in the Sweet 16. However, despite being listed as a game-time decision throughout the week leading into the game, the senior revealed after the game that he wasn’t close to playing, and even Sunday would have been a stretch.

Was Joshua Jefferson close to playing for Iowa State against Tennessee?

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson warming up during practice session. — Mar 26, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) warms up during a practice session ahead of the midwest regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center. | David Banks-Imagn Images

“Not close at all, ankle is still in a lot of pain and not able to do anything athletic right now. Probably wouldn’t have been able to go on Sunday if I wanted to. I just started to jog even a little bit yesterday, but even that’s pretty painful. It’s just hard right now,” Jefferson said in the locker room when speaking to reporters.

You didn’t have to be a medical expert to know getting back into the lineup a week after such a nasty ankle sprain was going to be asking a lot of Jefferson. Things were improving, and he did everything he could to get his body ready, but the pain was just too much to overcome.

Without their leading rebounder in the game, Iowa State was overwhelmed on the interior. Tennessee outrebounded them 43-22, grabbing nearly as many offensive rebounds, 16, as Iowa State had total.

Joshua Jefferson was “not close at all” to playing today.

“Probably wouldn’t have been able to go on Sunday if I wanted to.” pic.twitter.com/WwMtRxDDtF
— Ben Hutchens (@Ben_Hutchens_) March 28, 2026

It is a disappointing end to what has been an incredible career in Ames for Jefferson, who played his first two collegiate seasons with the Saint Mary’s Gales before transferring.

Things would have certainly been different had he been in the lineup against Tennessee. Without him, the Volunteers were able to neutralize Milan Momcilovic, forcing the rest of the team to make plays offensively.

The Cyclones went down swinging to the final buzzer, but ultimately, it was not enough to defeat the Volunteers.