The No.12-seeded Little Rock Trojans square off against the No.4-seeded Iowa State Cyclones in the second round of the NCAA tournament at the Pepsi Center. The game gets underway at 6:10 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 19 and can be seen on TNT.
The Cyclones played well in their last game, topping Iona 94-81 in the First Round. Monte Morris had 20 points, eight assists, and three steals for Iowa State. The Trojans, meanwhile, are coming off an 85-83 win over Purdue in the First Round. Josh Hagins was the game’s top scorer, recording 31 points on 10-for-20 shooting.
Hagins has been on a tear for the Trojans, averaging 16.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.4 steals, and 1.8 three-pointers over the past five games.
This matchup pits one of the nation’s top offenses against one of its elite defenses, as Iowa State currently ranks 25th in the nation in offensive efficiency and Little Rock is third in defensive efficiency. Moreover, foul-shooting opportunities could prove to be quite rare for the Trojans. They are 306th in the nation in FTA rate (31.5), while the Cyclones are among the nation’s least foul-prone teams (allowing a rate of just 24.3, ranking fourth in the country).
Notes
The Little Rock Trojans have a defensive rating of 93.4, third-best in the country. The Iowa State Cyclones have a top-tier offense with an offensive rating of 114.5 (ranked 25th).
The Iowa State Cyclones average 71.8 possessions and 1.145 points per possession in games this season. The Little Rock Trojans average fewer possessions with 64.9, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.099.
Iowa State has an average effective field goal percentage of 56.8% (ranked sixth). Little Rock is an even 1-1 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Ranked 22nd in the nation, Iowa State has an average of 16.5 assists per game. Little Rock ranks lower at 203rd with 13.0.
Iowa State, the 78th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.2 per game. Little Rock does worse, ranked 214th with 3.1.
The Iowa State Cyclones make an average of 6.2 steals per game. When the Little Rock Trojans allow 6 or more steals, they are a winning 7-3.
