Iowa State All-American Joshua Jefferson goes down with ankle injury in first round
The celebration is on in Big Blue Land after Otega Oweh‘s heroics against Santa Clara. Kentucky has advanced to the Round of 32 and will likely face No. 2 seed Iowa State on Sunday in St. Louis. The Cyclone could be without their best player in that matchup.
Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson was injured before the first media timeout at the Enterprise Center on Friday afternoon. The former Saint Mary’s transfer then had to be helped off the floor with what appears to be a serious left ankle injury.
CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported on air that Joshua Jefferson was getting x-rays at the arena. The 6-foot-9 forward was taken directly to the locker room after the injury. The Cyclones are rolling over No. 15 seed Tennessee State but the status of Jefferson looms large.
“I think for our team, you know, Joshua’s such a huge part of everything that we do,” Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger told CBS at halftime of the 2 vs. 15 game in St. Louis. “So we have a more guard oriented attack when he’s not out there. So we’re trying to space the floor more — drive it.”
Joshua Jefferson entered the NCAA Tournament averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists on .470/.345/.700 shooting splits in 31.8 minutes per game. The senior earned second-team All-American honors this season. Jefferson currently ranks No. 2 in KenPom’s Player of the Year standings. Jefferson is a pure stat sheet stuffer who ranked top-10 in the Big 12 in defensive rebound percentage, assist rate, steal percentage, fouls drawn per 40 minutes, and free throw rate. Jefferson recorded two triple-doubles in conference play this season.
The Iowa State forward has been one of the best players in college basketball this season. Iowa State could be without their star against Kentucky in the second round.
NCAA Tournament Schedule: Day 2
| No. 9 Utah State (-1.5) vs. No. 8 Villanova | 4:10 p.m. ET | TNT |
| No. 11 Miami (Ohio) vs. No. 6 Tennessee (-11.5) | 4:25 p.m. ET | TBS |
| No. 9 Iowa (-1.5) vs. No. 8 Clemson | 6:50 p.m. ET | TNT |
| No. 12 Northern Iowa vs. No. 5 St. John’s (-9.5) | 7:10 p.m. ET | CBS |
| No. 10 UCF vs. No. 7 UCLA (-5.5) | 7:25 p.m. ET | TBS |
| No. 15 Queens vs. No. 2 Purdue (-25.5) | 7:35 p.m. ET | TruTV |
| No. 16 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 1 Florida (-35.5) | 9:25 p.m. ET | TNT |
| No. 13 Cal Baptist vs. No. 4 Kansas (-14.5) | 9:45 p.m. ET | CBS |
| No. 15 Furman vs. No. 2 UConn (-20.5) | 10:00 p.m. ET | TBS |
| No. 10 Missouri vs. No. 7 Miami (-2.5) | 10:10 p.m. ET | TruTV |
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