Iowa State could be without its best player for NCAA Tournament game against UK

Cameron Drummond, Lexington Herald-Leader on Mar 20, 2026

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Kentucky basketball’s second-round opponent in the NCAA Tournament is now known.

The 7 seed Wildcats will face the 2 seed Iowa State Cyclones in the round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

And the Cyclones could be without their star player for that matchup.

All-America senior forward Joshua Jefferson suffered a sprained left ankle during the early stages of Iowa State’s 108-74 win over 15 seed Tennessee State in the first round of March Madness on Friday afternoon.

Jefferson played fewer than three minutes in that game before suffering the injury, which occurred while he completed a coast-to-coast layup. He didn’t return to the game.

Jefferson returned to Iowa State’s bench after suffering the injury, with his left foot in a walking boot. After the game, Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said X-rays were negative on Jefferson’s ankle.

“We’ll continue to reevaluate over the next day or two and just see where things are when we get to Sunday and figure out what time we play,” Otzelberger said.

The game time for Sunday’s contest between Iowa State and UK will be announced Friday night.

Jefferson is a consensus second team All-American for the Cyclones. Prior to his injury Friday, he was averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game. Jefferson is the first consensus All-American for Iowa State since Georges Niang in 2016.

Prior to Friday’s game against Tennessee State, Jefferson had scored at least 10 points in each of Iowa State’s games this season.

Even without Jefferson, Iowa State was dominant against Tennessee State. The Cyclones’ 108 points scored were a school record for an NCAA Tournament game. Freshman guard Killyan Toure, a native of France, scored a career-best 25 points to lead Iowa State. The Cyclones scored 55 points in the first half on their way to a 26-point halftime advantage. That marked the highest-scoring first half in an NCAA Tournament game for Iowa State in program history.

“Next man up mentality,” Iowa State senior guard Dominick Nelson said of Jefferson’s injury. “Obviously it sucks; he’s one of our best players.”

“Initially when it happened, you obviously don’t know the severity of it,” added senior guard Nate Heise. “The way that we all stepped up, knowing that’s what he would have wanted. Just continue to fight for him.”

What was Otzelberger most pleased with about his team’s response to Jefferson’s injury and subsequent absence from the game?

“A lot of these guys stepped up. They had more of a scoring role than maybe what they’ve had some other times,” Otzelberger said. “I thought they took tremendous pride in still pressuring the ball, moving the ball, playing for one another. Joshua, he leads our team in assists, so we have to really move the ball, and we have to be intentional on the glass to rebound without him. He’s an unbelievable player, unbelievable leader. Not having him out there brought a lot of challenges, but proud of our guys, how they stepped up and how they trusted and believed in one another.”

More details about Jefferson’s injury will arrive Saturday.

Otzelberger will speak to reporters Saturday afternoon in St. Louis ahead of the second-round tilt with UK. Then, an availability report for the matchup between the Cats and Cyclones will be released Saturday night.

That initial availability report for both Iowa State and UK must be provided by 10 p.m. EDT Saturday. A game-day availability report must also be provided two hours before the scheduled start time.

Every rostered player must be listed as available, questionable or out on the report. No additional details will be provided.