It was the worst possible nightmare for Iowa State fans, less than three minutes into the first game of an NCAA Tournament where they — as a No. 2 seed — had earned the label of a contender.
But Joshua Jefferson, the Cyclones’ star and focal point, landed awkwardly after attempting a layup and remained on the court in pain, eventually getting helped off the court and back to the locker room with an apparent foot injury.
He underwent X-ray exams, according to the CBS broadcast, and returned to the bench wearing a walking boot and sweats for the second half.
In the context of Iowa State’s first-round matchup with Tennessee State, they could survive without Jefferson.
They led 55-29 at the end of the first half, in position to cruise into the second round, where Kentucky awaits.
But in any game that follows after Friday, as the Cyclones get deeper and deeper into the postseason, that’s when the absence of Jefferson — who’d already made a shot before exiting, which ended up being the layup where he sustained the injury — will be glaring.
Jefferson, the senior forward who spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Saint Mary’s before transferring to Iowa State ahead of last season, entered March Madness averaging 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game.
“For our team, Joshua [Jefferson] is such a huge part of everything we do,” Iowa State head coach T. J. Otzelberger told the broadcast following a timeout. “So we have a more guard-oriented attack when he’s not out there.”
The Cyclones went 27-7 during the regular season — including 12-6 in Big 12 play — and fell in the semifinals of the conference tournament to Arizona, but that didn’t stop them from earning a top-two seed in their region.
The status of Jefferson, though, now looms as a major wrinkle to whether they can advance out of it and to Indianapolis, which would mark their first appearance in the Final Four since 1944.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
