13. Iowa State (2-seed)
Blake Buchanan (Junior – Forward)
Things just didn’t work out for Buchanan at Virginia but he’s found a great new home this season with these Cyclones. A former Top 100 recruit, he’s averaging 8.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game and is putting up the best numbers in his young career. Buchanan is an efficient scorer, making 63% of his field goals, and flirted with a triple double against Tennessee State in an 11-point, 8-rebound, 7-assist performance. His production is sorely needed for this run to continue much longer.
Nate Heise (Senior – Guard)
A fantastic guard earlier in his career at Northern Iowa, Heise has played well as a backup for Iowa State the last two seasons. However, the injury to Joshua Jefferson has thrust Heise into a bigger role after averaging 5.4 points and 3.9 rebounds this season. Fortunately, the Cyclones are still dancing in large part thanks to Heise, who had 22 points in the game where Jefferson was injured against Tennessee State before adding 12 more points in round two over Kentucky, his first start in over three months.
Tamin Lipsey (Senior – Guard)
Throughout his career in Ames, Lipsey has been an impactful presence for this basketball program. He has started 136 games for the Cyclones in his career and is putting up 13.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.3 steals here in year four. Lipsey was named Big 12 All-Defense for a third straight year and remains a game wrecker all over the court. His team needed him to step up in Jefferson’s absence and he really did, with 26 points, 10 assists, and 5 steals to knock out Kentucky.
Milan Momcilovic (Junior – Forward)
One of the best pure shooters in the entire nation, Momcilovic quickly became a star for the Cyclones and continues making shot after shot here in his junior year. His 49.3% mark from outside the arc leads the country while averaging 17.2 points and 3.2 rebounds per outing. He certainly earned those Second Team All-Big 12 honors and actually leads the country in made 3-pointers as well. His Tournament so far has featured 17 points in game one and a 20-point effort against Kentucky and he’s shown no signs of slowing down.
Killyan Toure (Freshman – Guard)
The new piece of the puzzle for T. J. Otzelberger is clearly Toure, who’s settled into a significant role in this backcourt in his first collegiate campaign. Toure has averaged 8.6 points and 3.4 rebounds a game but he’s saved his best performances for when it matters the most. Toure starred with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists against Tennessee State and didn’t shy away from the Wildcats, dropping 10 points in round two a few days ago.