March 20, 2026, 1:32 p.m. CT
STORRS, Conn. ― Iowa State women’s basketball entered the 2025-26 season with heavy expectations.
After bringing again the majority of their roster, the Cyclones had been anticipated to make a run at a Big 12 Conference title.
While that by no means occurred, they’ll nonetheless flip their disappointing season round.
Iowa State, an 8-seed, is wanting to make a run by March Madness. The Cyclones will start that quest towards 9-seed Syracuse within the first spherical at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Conn., on Saturday, March 21. Tip-off is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT.
“It’s a fresh start,” stated Iowa State forward Addy Brown. “Coming in, we’re 0-0. We’re going to come into it with a fresh mindset.”
The event is a recent alternative for Iowa State. Injuries to Brown and guard Arianna Jackson derailed a season for the once-top-10 group.
The Cyclones dropped five-straight video games at one level, tumbled out of the rankings and the Big 12 standings. Even after they received to full energy, they struggled, falling within the second spherical of the Big 12 Tournament. Iowa State nonetheless racked up 22 wins and picked up victories over ranked foes ― Iowa and Texas Tech.
None of it was sufficient to fix a 10-8 mark in Big 12 play, although. But the NCAA Tournament is a brand new alternative for the Cyclones to make their mark. The core group of Brown and Jackson, alongside with star Audi Crooks, helped the group earn a first-round win two years in the past.
Last season, Iowa State received a recreation in the course of the First Four earlier than falling within the Round of 64. Even although this common season didn’t dwell up to the hype, March is the place actual legacies are made.
“We told our kids, we all know the world we live in,” Iowa State coach Bill Fennelly stated not too long ago. “They’re all talking and looking at things. You want to be a good player, people remember March. They remember what you do this time of year. Yeah, we’re disappointed in the middle of the year. We weren’t the team when the calendar went to 2026.”
The hope is that they’re now. Brown and Jackson are again on the court docket and the Cyclones are about as shut to full energy as they are often. They’ll want to be to topple a tricky Syracuse group. Even if Iowa State wins that, they’ll doubtless face prime seed UConn for an opportunity to go to the Sweet 16.
Still, they imagine this group is able to something. So, they’ve moved on from the common season and targeted on the postseason.
“We’re going to forget about what happened early in the season,” Brown stated. “We can’t change it now. So, we might as well focus on what’s ahead of us.
“We’re just going to go out there and compete and play our style of basketball. It’s gotten us this far. So, why change now?”
Here are three issues to comply with in Iowa State’s showdown with Syracuse on Saturday:
Slowing down Uche Izoje will probably be necessary
Iowa State faces a tall process, actually, in making an attempt to decelerate 6-foot-3 middle Uche Izoje. The freshman has turn into among the best gamers within the nation, incomes ACC Rookie of the Year honors whereas averaging 15.5 factors, 9.4 rebounds and a couple of.6 blocks per recreation. Izoje can play away from the ring and doesn’t simply deliver scoring. She additionally supplies unbelievable shot-altering performs.
“It’s going to be a good one,” Crooks stated of the matchup.
Iowa State has to rebound higher
Rebounding has been an enormous challenge for Iowa State this season. The Cyclones ranked 13th within the Big 12 in offensive rebounds (10.2 per recreation) and seventh in mixed rebounding (38 per recreation). Posing a fair greater downside is that Syracuse has carried out an awesome job in that division. The Orange rank seventh within the nation in offensive rebounding (16.8 per recreation).
“The way they rebound the ball is a problem for us,” Fennelly stated.
Can Iowa State take higher care of the ball?
Iowa State has been at its worst when it is turning the ball over. During the Big 12 Tournament loss to Arizona State, the Cyclones turned it over 14 instances. That was often the widespread denominator in lots of the group’s setbacks this season. So, it is particularly regarding with how nicely Syracuse performs protection. The Orange ranked second within the ACC in steals (10.6) and turnovers compelled per recreation (18.9).
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports activities enterprise and options reporter, has been working on the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020, 2023 and 2025 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
