POWERED BY CARL’S AUTO GROUP. THE MADNESS ROLLS ON. SHANNON EARHART IS LIVE IN NORMAN, OKLAHOMA WITH THE HAWKEYE WOMEN GETTING READY FOR ROUND TWO TOMORROW. BUT WE RESUME OUR TEAM COVERAGE WITH KCCI. JEFF DUBROF IN MILWAUKEE, ABOUT AN HOUR AWAY FROM TIFF. JEFF, A LOT OF CYCLONE FANS IN THE HOUSE. A LOT OF CYCLONE FANS, INDEED. AN EASY TRIP FOR THE FANS WHO DROVE FROM IOWA TO MILWAUKEE. SOME CAME ON FRIDAY, SOME CAME TODAY TO SEE THE IOWA STATE CYCLONES TRY TO GET THEIR SECOND STRAIGHT SWEET 16 APPEARANCE, BE THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY, SCOTT, THAT THE CYCLONES GO TO BACK TO BACK SWEET 16 SECONDS AHEAD OF THEM, THOUGH A VERY GOOD IOWA OR EXCUSE ME, OLE MISS TEAM. BUT HERE’S THE THING. WE’RE LOOKING AHEAD TO THE SWEET 16 IN ATLANTA. FANS ARE TALKING ABOUT FLIGHTS. THEY’RE TALKING ABOUT WHICH HOTELS TO STAY IN. IOWA STATE IS KEEPING THEIR EYE ON THE PRIZE. THEY’RE LOOKING TO DO SOMETHING THAT JOHNNY ORR NEVER DID. MICHAEL STACY NEVER DID. FRED HOIBERG NEVER DID. AND THAT IS TO GO TO BACK TO BACK. BUT LET’S NOT PUT THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE, SHALL WE? I WASN’T AWARE OF THAT. BACK TO BACK SWEET 16. THAT’S PRETTY COOL. BUT OBVIOUSLY WE GOT TO WIN TOMORROW TO DO THAT. BUT IT’S REALLY JUST FOCUSING ON OLE MISS RIGHT NOW. NOT REALLY TALKING ABOUT SWEET 16 OR ELITE EIGHTS OR WHATEVER. JUST FOCUS ON HOW CAN WE WIN THIS GAME. EXCITING. I FEEL LIKE THEY’RE GOING TO GET OUR BEST AS WELL AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR. WIN OR GO HOME. SO YEAH, PRETTY MUCH. THEY’RE GOING TO HAVE THEIR HANDS FULL. I’VE MENTIONED THE LAST TWO DAYS OLE MISS, AS BALANCED AS IT GETS ON OFFENSE, SIX PLAYERS AVERAGING DOUBLE FIGURES THIS YEAR. BUT THE HEAD OF THE SNAKE, AS THEY REFERRED TO HIM AS SEAN PADULA, 15 POINTS PER GAME. JAMIN BRAKEFIELD 10.9 POINTS PER GAME, A 7 P.M. TIP NOW GIVE OR TAKE ON TRUTV. SOMETHING TELLS ME I THINK IT’S GOING TO BE A LITTLE LATER THAN 7 P.M. IT OBVIOUSLY DEPENDS ON WHEN KENTUCKY AND ILLINOIS WRAPS UP. THIS IS AN INTERESTING STAT TO KEEP AN EYE ON. OLE MISS DOES NOT REBOUND THE BALL WELL. THEIR LEADING REBOUNDER, JUST FIVE REBOUNDS PER GAME. WATCH FOR DESEAN JACKSON AND JOSHUA JEFFERSON TO BE THE KEYS DOWN LOW AND TRY TO MAKE SOME NOISE ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS. IF THEY WIN TONIGHT, OBVIOUSLY WE’VE SAID SECOND STRAIGHT SWEET 16. FIRST TIME EVER. BUT IT WOULD BE THE THIRD SWEET 16 IN THE LAST FOUR YEARS. AND IF THAT HAPPENS, T.J. OTZELBERGER WOULD BE JUST THE 15TH COACH EVER IN DIVISION ONE BASKETBALL HISTORY TO TAKE HIS TEAM TO THREE THREE SWEET 16 SECONDS IN HIS FIRST FOUR YEARS WI
Iowa State vs. Ole Miss: What to know about the Cyclones’ NCAA Tournament opponent
Updated: 6:37 PM CDT Mar 23, 2025
Iowa State is one win away from the program’s third Sweet 16 trip in the last four seasons.T.J. Otzelberger’s crew dispatched No. 14 seed Lipscomb, 82-55, in the first round Friday afternoon. The No. 3 seeded Cyclones now advance to Sunday’s second round to take on No. 6 Mississippi, which took down No. 11 North Carolina, 71-64.Here’s what to know about Sunday’s game.How to watch Iowa State vs. Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament: TV and ticketsWhen: 6:45 p.m. CT*, Sunday, March 23Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, WisconsinTV: truTVLivestream: March Madness Live*Iowa State vs. Ole Miss will tip off approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Illinois vs. Kentucky game, which also takes place in Milwaukee. That game is scheduled to tip at 4:15 p.m. CT.All men’s NCAA Tournament games will be played on CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV, and all games will be streamed on March Madness Live. CBS games will also stream on Paramount+, while TNT, TBS and truTV games will also stream on Max.You can find tickets here.Ole Miss basketball: Record, stats, NCAA Tournament history and moreRecord: 23-11Conference: SEC (10-8; tied for sixth place)NCAA Tournament history: The Rebels haven’t had much NCAA Tournament success since… well, ever.Mississippi is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance this year since a first-round exit in 2018-19. It hasn’t advanced out of the first weekend since the 2001 NCAA Tournament, when the No. 3 seed Rebels made second-half comebacks to eke into the Sweet 16, eventually losing there to national runner-up Arizona.That is the only appearance to the Sweet 16 in school history. The Rebels have never been beyond that round.Ole Miss ranks No. 34 in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 18 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to college basketball analytics site KenPom. The Rebels are among the best in the country at avoiding turnovers (third-lowest turnover rate at 13.0%) but they don’t score at a particularly efficient rate:3-point percentage: 34.3% (151st out of 354)2-point percentage: 50.9% (183rd)Free throw percentage: 73.5% (126th)Nobody on the team makes 3-pointers at a 39% clip or betterDefensively, Ole Miss forces a lot of turnovers but does it at the cost of committing a significant number of fouls. The Rebels also rank near the bottom of the country in offensive rebounding and aren’t much better on the defensive glass. Ole Miss basketball players to watch: Sean Pedulla, Malik DiaThe name of the game for Ole Miss: balance.Six different players average double-figures, with five of them between 10.4 and 10.8 points per game. The leader of the pack is senior guard Sean Pedulla, who transferred in from Virginia Tech and leads the team at 14.9 points and 3.6 assists per contest. Pedulla is also the team’s best shooter (38.8% on 6.1 3-point attempts per game).This is not Pedulla’s first time facing the Cyclones. While at Virginia Tech last season, Pedulla led the Hokies to a 71-62 win over Iowa State in the ESPN Events Invitational. He had 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in the victory, but the Cyclones did force him to commit 5 turnovers.Junior forward Malik Dia (6-foot-9) is on his third college program in three years. He has blossomed as a full-time starter this season, posting averages of 10.6 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game.A rematch with Chris BeardChris Beard and Iowa State have history, both in the NCAA Tournament and in the regular season.Beard, now in his second season leading the Mississippi program, began his Division I head coaching career at Arkansas Little Rock in 2016. His team won a double-overtime thriller in the opening round vs. No. 5 seed Purdue and matched up with No. 4 seed Iowa State in the second round. Led by 28 points from Georges Niang and 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists from Matt Thomas, Iowa State cruised to a 17-point victory and a Sweet 16 berth.Beard left after one season and landed at Texas Tech, where he compiled a 6-4 record vs. Iowa State across five seasons. He coached against Iowa State twice more as the coach of Texas in 2021-22 and split the two games. In total, Beard is 7-6 in 13 games against Iowa State as a head coach.» Subscribe to KCCI’s YouTube page» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google Play
MILWAUKEE —Iowa State is one win away from the program’s third Sweet 16 trip in the last four seasons.
T.J. Otzelberger’s crew dispatched No. 14 seed Lipscomb, 82-55, in the first round Friday afternoon. The No. 3 seeded Cyclones now advance to Sunday’s second round to take on No. 6 Mississippi, which took down No. 11 North Carolina, 71-64.
Here’s what to know about Sunday’s game.
How to watch Iowa State vs. Ole Miss in the NCAA Tournament: TV and tickets
- When: 6:45 p.m. CT*, Sunday, March 23
- Where: Fiserv Forum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- TV: truTV
- Livestream: March Madness Live
*Iowa State vs. Ole Miss will tip off approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the Illinois vs. Kentucky game, which also takes place in Milwaukee. That game is scheduled to tip at 4:15 p.m. CT.
All men’s NCAA Tournament games will be played on CBS, TBS, TNT or truTV, and all games will be streamed on March Madness Live. CBS games will also stream on Paramount+, while TNT, TBS and truTV games will also stream on Max.
Ole Miss basketball: Record, stats, NCAA Tournament history and more
- Record: 23-11
- Conference: SEC (10-8; tied for sixth place)
NCAA Tournament history: The Rebels haven’t had much NCAA Tournament success since… well, ever.
Mississippi is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance this year since a first-round exit in 2018-19. It hasn’t advanced out of the first weekend since the 2001 NCAA Tournament, when the No. 3 seed Rebels made second-half comebacks to eke into the Sweet 16, eventually losing there to national runner-up Arizona.
That is the only appearance to the Sweet 16 in school history. The Rebels have never been beyond that round.
Ole Miss ranks No. 34 in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency and No. 18 in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to college basketball analytics site KenPom. The Rebels are among the best in the country at avoiding turnovers (third-lowest turnover rate at 13.0%) but they don’t score at a particularly efficient rate:
- 3-point percentage: 34.3% (151st out of 354)
- 2-point percentage: 50.9% (183rd)
- Free throw percentage: 73.5% (126th)
Nobody on the team makes 3-pointers at a 39% clip or better
Defensively, Ole Miss forces a lot of turnovers but does it at the cost of committing a significant number of fouls. The Rebels also rank near the bottom of the country in offensive rebounding and aren’t much better on the defensive glass.
Ole Miss basketball players to watch: Sean Pedulla, Malik Dia
The name of the game for Ole Miss: balance.
Six different players average double-figures, with five of them between 10.4 and 10.8 points per game. The leader of the pack is senior guard Sean Pedulla, who transferred in from Virginia Tech and leads the team at 14.9 points and 3.6 assists per contest. Pedulla is also the team’s best shooter (38.8% on 6.1 3-point attempts per game).
This is not Pedulla’s first time facing the Cyclones. While at Virginia Tech last season, Pedulla led the Hokies to a 71-62 win over Iowa State in the ESPN Events Invitational. He had 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 6 assists in the victory, but the Cyclones did force him to commit 5 turnovers.
Junior forward Malik Dia (6-foot-9) is on his third college program in three years. He has blossomed as a full-time starter this season, posting averages of 10.6 points and a team-best 5.7 rebounds per game.
A rematch with Chris Beard
Chris Beard and Iowa State have history, both in the NCAA Tournament and in the regular season.
Beard, now in his second season leading the Mississippi program, began his Division I head coaching career at Arkansas Little Rock in 2016. His team won a double-overtime thriller in the opening round vs. No. 5 seed Purdue and matched up with No. 4 seed Iowa State in the second round. Led by 28 points from Georges Niang and 16 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists from Matt Thomas, Iowa State cruised to a 17-point victory and a Sweet 16 berth.
Beard left after one season and landed at Texas Tech, where he compiled a 6-4 record vs. Iowa State across five seasons. He coached against Iowa State twice more as the coach of Texas in 2021-22 and split the two games. In total, Beard is 7-6 in 13 games against Iowa State as a head coach.
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