Winning This Key Area Will Be Important for Iowa State Basketball in Sweet 16

As the Iowa State Cyclones get set for their Sweet 16 matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers, the team will be hoping to maintain the momentum that they have built up over the last couple of weeks.

Since the start of the Big 12 tournament, this is a Cyclones team that has been playing at an extremely high level. Iowa State was able to run through both the Arizona State Wildcats and the Texas Tech Red Raiders before losing a thriller to the Arizona Wildcats.

In the NCAA tournament, that strong play has continued even without their star player Joshua Jefferson, who was injured right at the beginning of their opening round matchup. Fortunately, players have been stepping up in his absence, and the team really hasn’t missed a beat.

While the team will be hopeful that their star returns for the Sweet 16, they have proven that they can win without him. It has been a little bit of a different look for Iowa State, but the defense continues to be key. As they prepare for their matchup against the Volunteers, forcing turnovers is going to remain a key factor for their success.

Forcing Turnovers Will Remain Key

Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey diving for the ball — Iowa State Cyclones guard Tamin Lipsey | Jeff Le-Imagn Images

So far in the NCAA tournament and in the win against the Wildcats, especially, forcing turnovers was a key factor and a major reason why the Cyclones were able to come away with the win. In the victory, Iowa State forced Kentucky into 20 turnovers, and their pressure on the ball was impressive.

It hasn’t been often that the Cyclones have pressed teams this year, but the guards of the Wildcats were struggling to deal with the pressure, and Iowa State was able to keep it up throughout. Head coach T.J. Otzelberger did a really nice job of making quick subs to give his players some rest, especially in the backcourt.

Coming into the matchup against Tennessee, this could be an area in which the Cyclones are once again going to be looking to exploit. The Volunteers have been a bit prone to turnovers offensively, and in their first-round matchup against Miami-Ohio, they turned the ball over 16 times. They were much better in that area against the Virginia Cavaliers, but the Cyclones have proven to be one of the best teams in the league at forcing turnovers.

While there will be many factors that go into winning the game, the turnover battle is always a key one. If Iowa State can force the Volunteers into mistakes as they did against Kentucky, it could be a long day for them.