No. 12 Iowa State to face No. 17 BYU with guards Tamin Lipsey and Keshon Gilbert hobbled by injuries

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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….

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/no-12-iowa-state-face-192430039.html

Author : Associated Press

Publish date : 2025-03-12 19:24:00

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