ST. LOUIS — Iowa State basketball has arrived in St. Louis for its first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against Tennessee State.
Head coach T.J. Otzelberger brought some positive news surrounding senior point guard Tamin Lipsey.
Lipsey briefly exited the Big 12 Tournament semifinals after tweaking his groin in the second half. He did return to finish the game, as the Cyclones went on to lose on a contested buzzer-beater, 82-80, on March 13.
“He’s great, feels great,” Otzelberger said. “Practiced today, looked like the great player that he’s been for us all year. Excited for him, he’s feeling fully healthy.”
Late in the second half against the Wildcats, Iowa State got a stop and ran in transition with less than five minutes remaining. Lipsey slowly jogged his way down court and appeared to be clutching his groin.
Iowa State made a few passes before resetting near mid-court. Lipsey turned and spoke with a referee, and an injury substitution was allowed. Lipsey headed into the locker room after exiting the floor.
He checked back in to finish the game with 2:55 remaining.
“I was guarding (Jaden) Bradley and just went to slide, and kind of felt like a stretch in my groin,” Lipsey said following the loss to Arizona. “This was the same groin (I injured) in Vegas, but not nearly as the same pain I felt in Vegas, so I knew I’d be able to go back, talk to (Cyclones trainer) Vic (Miller), then obviously be able to back in the game, finish the game, which is a positive and obviously shows that it’s nothing too serious.”
The Cyclones’ senior point guard was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive Team for the third season in a row. The Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year also earned his third all-conference distinction, landing on the second team after placing on the third team last year and first-team All-Big 12 in 2023-24.
Lipsey is averaging 13.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game, while shooting 46.1% overall.
No. 2 seed Iowa State (27-7) opens the NCAA Tournament against 15-seed Tennessee State. The OVC Tournament and co-regular season champions enter with a 23-9 record. Tip-off is scheduled for Friday, March 20, at 1:50 p.m. CT from the Enterprise Center.
Eugene Rapay covers Iowa State athletics for the Des Moines Register. Contact Eugene at erapay@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @erapay5
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball coach gives Tamin Lipsey update, and it’s good news
Reporting by Eugene Rapay, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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