Iowa State pulls off upset of Wisconsin, advances to Sweet Sixteen

The 11-seeded Iowa State Cyclones are going to the Sweet Sixteen after pulling off a 54-49 upset win against Wisconsin in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday. ISU guard Gabe Kalscheur, a transfer from Minnesota, led the team with 22 points on 10-19 shooting in the big win.

After a back-and-forth first half in which neither team led by more than five points, Iowa State created some separation in the second half. A 3-point basket from Aljaz Kunc with 4:17 remaining gave the Cyclones their largest lead of the game at 10 points, but the Badgers continued to fight. They got themselves back within five, but went scoreless over the next three minutes.

“It feels great, our guys are so aggressive defensively,” Iowa State coach TJ Otzelberger told CBS Sports’ AJ Ross postgame. “Our mentality was there. I’m just really proud of their effort and how they finished the job. I’m so proud of Gabe and the way we stepped up. He’s played against these guys a lot during his years in the Big Ten. He has so much confidence. It was an awesome team win, but wow was Gabe great today.”

Neither team shot particularly well from the floor in the game, with Iowa State players outside of Kalscheur hitting just 25.6% of their shots. Thankfully, the Cyclones defense limited Wisconsin to just 29.8% from the field while also forcing 17 turnovers.

The Badgers were unable to overcome the loss of starting point guard Chucky Hepburn after he went down with an ankle injury during the first half. Hepburn finished with just two rebounds as he did not return to the game.

Following the win against Wisconsin, Iowa State now moves on to face the winner between No. 2 seed Auburn and No. 10 seed Miami with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line. It is just the sixth appearance in the Sweet Sixteen in school history, and Otzelberger said ISU is aware what that means to its supporters.

“I’m thrilled for our fans that came out and supported us,” the coach said. “Everybody who’s come before us takes a lot of pride in being a Cyclone, so it’s pretty awesome.”