Iowa State guard says Kentucky reached a “let’s just be done” point

Iowa State senior guard Nate Heise played 36 minutes in the second-round win over Kentucky on Sunday, filling in for the injured Joshua Jefferson.

Then, he went viral for his postgame comments in the locker room.

Heise, who hit the go-ahead three-pointer right before halftime, caught the attention of Big Blue Nation when he told Alec Busse, an Iowa State reporter, that the Cyclones knew there was a chance that Kentucky would lie down when hit with adversity.

“I think that’s something we identified before the game,” said Heise. “The potential for them to do that. The way that we just turned them over and played our defense to where it didn’t look like they could do anything else. When you get them to that point, it’s like, ‘let’s just be done.’ I think that’s their mindset, so it was good to get them to that point.”

Heise’s remark quickly made the rounds, adding another layer to Kentucky’s season-ending loss in the first weekend of the tournament.

He added, “It was good to beat Kentucky and watch their fans leave early. That was obviously a bonus.“

See that full interview here.

TJ Otzelberger on Iowa State and adversity

During the postgame press conference on the NCAA stage, Iowa State head coach TJ Otzelberger was asked how his team handles adversity.

“I mean, for us, adversity just creates opportunity for us to be at our best,” he said. “We work every single day for those habits and that consistency of those habits. You know what, when you do that and you have character guys who continue to stay committed to the process, things go your way in the biggest moments.”