In the opening stretch of the Round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament, 2-seed Iowa State basketball’s star forward Joshua Jefferson suffered a leg injury during the win over 15-seed Tennessee State. He was helped off the court and did not return. Jefferson also did not play in the Cyclones’ dominant 82-63 win over 7-seed Kentucky in the Round of 32 on Sunday.
Now, Iowa State and 6-seed Tennessee are set to meet in the Sweet 16 this Friday. As everyone awaits news on Jefferson’s availability, it’ll have to wait until Monday morning. ISU head coach T.J. Otzelberger said after the win against the Wildcats that he has an MRI scheduled for 11 a.m. that will help determine his availability.
Jefferson, an AP Second-Team All-American, is averaging 16.4 points per game on 47.1% shooting from the field and 34.5% on 3-pointers. He is also contributing 7.4 rebounds and 4.8 assists per contest.
More From RTI: Three Quick Takeaways: Tennessee Basketball Outlasts Virginia In NCAA Tournament Thriller
Without Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey stepped up against Kentucky. He scored 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting from the field and 3-for-6 on threes. He also added 10 rebounds, three assists and five steals in 37 minutes.
“Obviously, with J-Jeff out of the lineup and not playing in the game, he’s the best player on our team,” Lipsey said after the game. “So just all the guys knew that we had to step up in different ways and however that presented it to us. For me it was just being aggressive, getting downhill early, drawing some fouls, getting to the line. That kind of set the momentum for me. Didn’t hit a three until the second half, but once that happened, I felt really good about my offense and teammates kept looking for me, things like that.”
Iowa State is hoping for positive news about Jefferson in its bid to get back to the Elite Eight. The Cyclones have been just twice in program history, in 1944 and 2000.
For Tennessee, it’s looking to punch its ticket to a third-straight Elite Eight and fourth all-time. The Vols are still looking for their first Final Four, though.
More to follow: Kentucky sports betting
