Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz says whoever is eventually named the starting quarterback will have a better offense to work with. That unit that ranked next to last in the Big Ten last season.

Spencer Petras opened spring drills at the top of the depth chart with Alex Padilla second.

Ferentz is confident in both.

Joe Labas is third on the depth chart.

The future is bright for the Iowa State men’s and women’s basketball teams after runs to the Sweet-16. The Cyclone men closed T.J. Otzerlberger’s first season as head coach with a 22-13 record after a 70-56 loss to Miami in Chicago and Otzelberger credits a roster that bought in.

Otzelberger on how this team will be remembered.

Otzelberger says the Cyclones also handled their share of adversity.

ISU guard Izaiah Brockington hopes this team is remembered as the one that got the program restarted.

The Cyclone women finished 28-7 after a 76-68 upset loss to Creighton in Greensboro, North Carolina. Even if star forward Ashley Joens does not used her COVID season a solid nucleus returns for coach Bill Fennelly.

Fennelly says it was an enjoyable team to coach.

Miami grabbed 11 steals and piled up 21 assists on their 26 made shots to push past Iowa State 70-56 in a Sweet 16 game in Chicago on Friday night. The Cyclones were a cold 4 of 22 from three point range and didn’t have many loose balls bounce their way.

Miami led by three at half and the Canes never surrendered the lead in the second half. Kameron McGusty had a huge game with 27 points on 10 of 18 shooting to lead Miami. Jordan Miller had 16 points and 7 rebounds, while Sam Waardenburg came up with some big shots to finish with 13 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists.

Iowa State was led by 13 points each from Tyrese Hunter and Gabe Kalscheur. Hunter also had 7 assists and 4 rebounds. Star guard Izaiah Brockington was held in check, finishing with 11 points and 7 rebounds. The Cyclones end their turnaround season with a mark of 22-13 after finishing 2-22 a season ago.

Miami improved to 26-10 on the season and reached their first ever Elite Eight with the win. The Hurricanes will face Kansas in the Midwest Region Final on Sunday at 1:20 p.m. back at the United Center.

Creighton poured in 11 threes and shot 45% from the field on their way to 76-68 win over Iowa State in the round of 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The game was back and forth in the first half and tied 30-all at the break. The Jays took control with a 29-21 advantage in the third quarter and kept the Cyclones at bay in the fourth.

Morgan Maly led four Creighton players in double-figures with 21 points. Tatum Rembao added 19 points and 4 assists. Iowa transfer Lauren Jensen nearly had a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds.

Iowa State was led by 22 points from Emily Ryan and 15 points and 5 rebounds from Nyamer Diew. Ashley Joens finished with 14 points and 4 boards in what may be her last game with the Cyclones. Iowa State ends the season with a 28-7 record.

Creighton improved to 23-9 and will now face top-seed South Carolina on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. in the Elite Eight.

Saturday, March 26, 2022

Women’s NCAA Sweet 16

No. 1 N.C. State vs. No. 5 Notre Dame 11:30 a.m. ESPN
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Indiana 2 p.m. ESPN
No. 1 Louisville vs. No. 4 Tennessee 4 p.m. ESPN2
No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 10 South Dakota 6:30 p.m. ESPN2

Men’s NCAA Elite Eight

No. 2 Villanova vs. No. 5 Houston 4:09 p.m. TBS San Antonio, Tex. AT&T Center
No. 2 Duke vs. No. 4 Arkansas 7:49 p.m. TBS San Francisco, Calif. Chase Center

Friday, March 25, 2022

Men’s NCAA Sweet 16

No. 3 Purdue vs. No. 15 Saint Peter’s 6:09 p.m. CBS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wells Fargo Center
No. 1 Kansas vs. No. 4 Providence 6:29 p.m. TBS Chicago, Illinois United Center
No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 8 North Carolina 8:39 p.m. CBS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Wells Fargo Center
No. 10 Miami (Fla.) vs. No. 11 Iowa State 8:59 p.m. TBS Chicago, Illinois United Center

Women’s NCAA Sweet 16

No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 5 North Carolina 6 p.m. ESPN
No. 2 Texas vs. No. 6 Ohio State 6 p.m. ESPN2
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 4 Maryland 8:30 p.m. ESPN
No. 3 Iowa State vs. No. 10 Creighton 8:30 p.m. ESPN2

Greg McDermott will be the head men’s basketball coach at Creighton University for a while longer. McDermott and Creighton agreed to a multi-year extension on Thursday.

Creighton Athletic Director Marcus Blossom announced the extension but terms of the deal were not disclosed. On a call Thursday McDermott said the deal was for more than two years but less than ten.

McDermott has a 276-137 record in 12 seasons at Creighton. He has reached the NCAA Tournament seven times during that stretch. He has spent time as a head coach at Wayne State, his alma mater UNI, Iowa State, and Creighton. His overall coaching record stands at 425-268 in 21 seasons.

Iowa State took to the practice floor in Chicago Thursdays afternoon in Chicago to get ready for tonight’s Midwest Regional semifinal round game against Miami. In his first season as coach T.J. Otzelberger has led the Cyclones back to the Sweet-16 after a 2-22 record a year ago.

Otzelberger says his first goal was the restore pride in the program.

Otzelberger’s wife played basketball for Iowa State and he says Ames is a perfect fit for his family.

Otzelberger says the credit goes to the players for the work ethic they established last summer.

Otzelberger says Miami’s pressure defense is designed to force turnovers and generate easy baskets.

Otzelberger says the Cyclones must limit turnovers.

ISU senior guard Izaiah Brockington says the Cyclones are enjoying the run.

ISU guard Gabe Kalscheur says defense will be the key once again.

The Iowa State women play Creighton tonight (Friday night) in the Sweet-16 in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is the Cyclones’ first trip to a regional semifinal since 2010.

That’s ISU coach Bill Fennelly who says the Cyclones are thrilled to be part if it.

Fennelly says at the point in the tournament it is about role players stepping up.

Fennelly says a key will be defending a Creighton team that can put five guards on the court.

Fennelly does not view his third seeded Cyclones as a heavy favorite over the 10th seeded Bluejays.

ATLANTA – Iowa State women’s basketball’s Ashley Joens added yet another honor to her storied senior campaign as she was named one of 52 region finalists by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.

Joens’ season has been anything short of stellar, averaging 20.5 points and 9.6 rebounds. She has connected on a career-best 90 3-pointers and is shooting at a career-best 37.8 percent clip. The Iowa City, Iowa native helped the Cyclones to a program record 28 wins and to the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2010.

Joens was recently named a Second-Team All-American by the Associated Press, becoming just the fourth Cyclone to be named to an All-America team.

Joens’ selection as a Region 3 Finalist puts her under consideration for the prestigious 10-member WBCA Coaches All-America Team, which will be announced on Thursday, March 31.