But Iowa State coach Steve Prohm didn’t budge from his seat, and made no motion to his players for a timeout.
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Iona was a trendy upset pick because of Iowa State’s limited depth, porous defense and hobbled point guard, Monte Morris. “I was like, ‘What about the Iowa State Cyclones?“. Davis’s teams at Iowa were a ideal 9-0 in the first round of the tournament. This is the third time in six seasons that Iona has gone dancing under head coach Tom Cluess. Cyclones F Georges Niang is a finalist for the Wooden Award and the Karl Malone Award…. Finally, it’s worth pointing out that Iowa State is not the deepest team, and it’ll be playing its second game in three days in the high altitude of Denver, which might not be ideal for their endurance.
Monte Morris also played a solid game and posted 20 points and eight assists for Iowa State despite his injured shoulder. Iowa State faces Iona on T…
In the meantime, Iona fans will have to stake their hopes on the 15th-seeded women’s team, which takes on 2nd-seeded Maryland Saturday in the women’s tournament. The success was limited as Iowa State continued to move the ball around well to create open looks. It will lose four senior contributors-Ibn Muhammad, Aaron Rountree, Isaiah Williams and English-which means the Gaels will take on a new look when they return to action next fall.
The Gaels began the second half strong, and cut the 12-point Iowa State lead to eight, 52-44, after a 3-point play by Jordan Washington with 17:18 to play. Iona has three players that made at least 77 three-pointers made and 171 attempts this season, led by A.J. English, who is the son of former National Basketball Association player Alex English. The tournament didn’t go almost as well as conference play, as the Hawkeyes lost their first game 104-103 to Jacksonville. “I will throw that out there”, Calipari said.
The loss ends Iona’s season. On to the scene came Davis, who led the Hawkeyes to nine tournament appearances in his thirteen years at the school. Many believed they would dominate the MAAC and establish themselves as one of the premier mid-major programs.
Niang watched Iona play throughout the season after meeting English, the Gaels’ point guard, at last summer’s adidas Nations camp.
Last time in NCAA Tournament: Ohio State blew out Iona in the 2013 NCAA Tournament Second Round.
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Tournament Record: 16-17, 17 years. It remains to be seen what English’s professional prospects may be.
