No. 12 Iowa State to face No. 17 BYU with Lipsey, Gilbert hobbled
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — No. 12 Iowa State could have two of its best guards at less-than-full strength in the Big 12 Tournament quarterfinals after Tamin Lipsey hurt his groin and Keshon Gilbert continued to deal with a muscle strain in a win over Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Lipsey played 29 minutes and had 16 points before leaving with just over three minutes left in the 76-56 victory over the Bearcats. He was met by a trainer along the Cyclones bench and, after a brief chat, headed straight to the locker room.
Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger was optimistic that his point guard would be available Thursday, when the Cyclones play No. 17 BYU, who spoiled their senior night last week by winning a double-overtime thriller at Hilton Coliseum.
“He tweaked it,” Otzelberger said of Lipsey's groin, “but I think for sure he'll be fine and he'll be good to go tomorrow.”
Otzelberger sounded less optimistic about Gilbert, the fifth-seeded Cyclones' second-leading scorer, who had missed three of the previous five games because of his injury. Gilbert played 11 first-half minutes against Cincinnati, burying a 3 from the corner, but he did not play at all in the second half, when the Cyclones finished on an 11-0 run to put away the Bearcats.
“We'll see what he is able to do. Not sure right now,” Otzelberger said. “He felt like he couldn't get any push or any explosion. We will stretch him out and do everything we can to get him ready to play tomorrow, if that's a possibility.”
The Cyclones (24-8) have been able to adapt to injuries over the course of the season. Milan Momcilovic, their best outside threat, sustained a hand injury in practice that required surgery and kept the sophomore forward out for a month.
Against the Bearcats, the Cyclones simply went with bigger lineups down the stretch that dominated the paint.
Six-foot-9 forward Joshua Jefferson had a game-high 19 points along with eight rebounds and five assists, repeatedly driving his smaller defenders to the basket. Six-foot-11 forward Dishon Jackson added 10 points and 15 rebounds while helping Iowa State to a 41-23 edge in rebounding and a 36-16 advantage in points in the paint.
The Cyclones held Cincinnati 7-footer Aziz Bandaogo and 6-8 forward Dillon Mitchell to just four points on five shots.
“We do the hard work every day,” Jackson said. “We just went out and showed what we do every day.”
Now, the Cyclones get another crack at the fourth-seeded Cougars (23-8), who beat them 88-85 on March 4. Lipsey had 15 points and eight assists in 41 minutes in that matchup, while Gilbert had 13 points and eight steals in 43 minutes.
BYU is riding an eight-game winning streak into the Big 12 Tournament, one that includes victories over Kansas and Arizona.
“They're playing at an extremely high level,” Otzelberger said. “They came into our building and did a great job and earned a victory. ... We’ll aim to control what we can control and be at our absolute best when we come out tomorrow.”
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