Iowa State defeated Nevada 84-73 tonight to advance to the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32 on Saturday. The opponent for the Cyclones will be the Purdue Boilermakers, who are fresh off beating a tough Vermont team by 10.
For awhile, tonight’s game looked like it could turn into a blowout. ISU went into halftime with a 40-27 lead, built on a half of good shooting and solid interior defense. However, the Wolf Pack wouldn’t go away easily, cutting Iowa State’s lead to just two possessions on multiple occasions in the second half. They could never quite get over the hump though, and the Cyclones nailed their free throws to seal the victory.