Iowa State’s best player won’t suit up for the Cyclones against Kentucky
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Iowa State star Joshua Jefferson is dealing with an ankle injury in the NCAA Tournament.
- Jefferson sustained a left ankle injury during Cyclones’ first-round March Madness win.
- Jefferson won’t play for Iowa State against UK in the second round of NCAA Tournament.
Iowa State’s best player won’t suit up for the Cyclones in Sunday’s NCAA Tournament second-round matchup against Kentucky.
Iowa State All-American senior forward Joshua Jefferson suffered a sprained left ankle during the Cyclones’ first-round win over Tennessee State on Friday afternoon.
Jefferson is listed as out for Sunday’s game on Iowa State’s availability report.
On Saturday afternoon, Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger said Jefferson “appears unlikely” to play against Kentucky.
“Never want to rule anything out, so we’ll just continue doing what we can in his best interest and we’ll be prepared to go either way,” Otzelberger said.
Otzelberger added that the decision for Jefferson to play or not play was going to be a collaborative choice between Iowa State’s coaches and trainers, as well as Jefferson.
Just before Otzelberger met with media members Saturday, the Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman reported Jefferson is “unlikely to play” against the Cats.
Iowa State, a 2 seed, will face 7 seed Kentucky around 2:45 p.m. EDT Sunday at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 to face either 3 seed Virginia or 6 seed Tennessee.
Jefferson — who entered March Madness averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 1.7 steals per game — played less than three minutes against Tennessee State before suffering the ankle injury.
That setback didn’t slow down the Cyclones, though. Iowa State cruised to a 108-74 win over Tennessee State. The Cyclones set NCAA Tournament school records for points scored in a game (108) and points scored in the first half (55).
Iowa State junior guard Mason Williams is also out — as he has been all season — following offseason hip surgery. Freshman forward Xzavion Mitchell is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against UK. He hasn’t taken the floor for the Cyclones since Dec. 21.
UK head coach Mark Pope said Saturday afternoon that Kentucky was preparing as if Jefferson will play in Sunday’s second-round tilt, but Pope also praised the overall strength of Iowa State’s roster.
The Cyclones boast a top-20 offense and a top-five defense, per KenPom. Iowa State ranks seventh in the nation in 3-point shooting percentage (38.9%) and fourth in the country in defensive turnover percentage (22.3%).
“The great thing about Iowa State, and I think what T.J.’s done so masterfully at Iowa State, is they have such an ingrained identity of who they are,” Pope said. “Clearly Jefferson is a massive key to what they do... Like he’s a special, special player. But Iowa State’s going to be Iowa State, whoever T.J. rolls out on the court. He could probably go grab five guys from the rec center and give him a week, and they would come out there and just be an incredibly intense defensive juggernaut that’s finding ways to score in big ways. We’re preparing for what Iowa State is.”
For Kentucky, the only injury absences Sunday are junior guard Jaland Lowe and sophomore forward Jayden Quaintance. Both players are out.
Lowe played in only nine games this season before being ruled out for the season in January following a series of right shoulder injuries. Quaintance has only taken the floor in four games for the Cats this season while managing swelling in his right knee following a torn ACL that Quaintance suffered in February 2025.
This story was originally published March 21, 2026 at 4:44 PM.
