Iowa State, Drake men receive tourney assignments

Iowa State and Drake received their men’s NCAA Tournament assignments during the “Selection Sunday” reveal process, with the Cyclones receiving a No. 3 seed in the South Region and the Bulldogs landing in the West as an 11 seed.

The Cyclones (25-9) open tourney action on Friday at 12:30 p.m. against 14th-seed Lipscomb (24-9) in Milwaukee. The Missouri Valley Conference champion Bulldogs (30-3) take on No. 6 seed Missouri (22-11) at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in Wichita, Kan.

Iowa State head coach T.J. Otzelberger announced on Sunday that the team will be without starting guard Keshon Gilbert for the remainder of the season. Gilbert, who was averaging over 13 points, three rebounds and four assists, missed two weeks late in the year with a groin injury. He returned for the final two games and then played briefly in the Big 12 Tournament opener, but did not suit up against BYU in the quarterfinals.

Curtis Jones paces the Cyclone offense at 17.1 points per game. Joshua Jefferson leads the way in rebounding with a 7.4-board average.

Iowa State is only 3-4 in its last seven, and 7-7 since Jan. 25.

Lipscomb went 14-4 in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Jacob Ognacevic scores at a 20-point clip, with four of his teammates averaging in double figures as well.

Ognacevic, a 6-foot-8 senior forward originally from Wisconsin, also hauls in over eight rebounds a night.

The Bisons faced two ranked opponents this season, falling to Arkansas (76-60) and Kentucky (97-68). They defeated North Alabama for their conference title, 76-65.

The winner of the ISU-Lipscomb matchup takes on either Mississippi or the North Carolina/San Diego State play-in victor on Sunday.

Drake secured a 30-win campaign under first-year head coach Ben McCollum by clinching the MVC Tournament title to flank its regular-season crown. This is the Bulldogs’ eighth NCAA bid overall, and their third straight.

Bennett Stirtz, the freshly-minted conference player of the year, averages 19.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and 5.7 assists for Drake. Daniel Abreu, Tavion Banks and Mitch Mascari are all close to double figures in scoring as well.

Missouri, which finished ranked 21st in the nation, is led by Mark Mitchell (14.1 points), ex-Iowa State Cyclone Caleb Grill (13.7) and Tamar Bates (13.4). Tony Perkins, a former Iowa Hawkeye guard, starts and averages 8.7 points.

The Tigers were 10-8 in the SEC.

Drake and Missouri haven’t played since 1987. The winner meets either Texas Tech or UNC-Wilmington on Saturday.