A little self-awareness can often go a long way, be it basketball-related or otherwise. Consider the case of the Iowa State Cyclones, erstwhile bottom-dwellers-turned-Sweet 16 challengers who are decidedly Not Supposed To Be Here. Iowa State did not arrive in Chicago this week as winners of a beauty contest, coming off two upset wins in which neither team scratched 60 points. But here they are.
“We're not going to apologize for how we have to win,” head coach T.J. Otzelberger said, “and we're not going to apologize for aesthetically how it may look.”
The Cyclones arrived as Cinderellas of note nonetheless.