Cyclones and Coach Otzelberger Will Face a Familiar Foe

What a weekend for the Iowa State men's basketball team. Kansas City looked a lot like Ames as Cyclone Nation invaded and walked away with the Big 12 Tournament Championship! Perhaps no team in college basketball is hotter right now than Iowa State. But after earning a #2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Cyclones were handed a plot twist.

Iowa State has been masterfully guided this season by head coach T.J. Otzelberger. The Cyclones are 27-7, Big 12 Tournament Champs, and just defeated #1 Houston in a rout! But during the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Otzelberger will be handed the challenge of coaching a team that he knows all too well. South Dakota State. The school that gave him his very first head coaching position, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.

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The Gazette reports that Otzelberger served as the Jackrabbit's head coach from 2017-2019. Current South Dakota State head coach Eric Henderson served as Otzelberger's associate head coach during the 2018-2019 season. When T.J. left for UNLV the next season, Henderson was promoted to head coach.

Iowa State and South Dakota State will play in their first-round NCAA Tournament game on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. in Omaha. The winner will take on either #7 seed Washington State or #10 seed Drake. How crazy would an Iowa State versus Drake game in Omaha be for a trip to the Sweet 16?

This is what we love about March Madness. The storylines. The matchups. The tournament committee claims they don't look at things like that. Try telling that to T.J. Otzelberger.

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