5 things to know about Pitt vs. Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament

We now know that the Pitt Panthers (23-11) are going to be in the field of 64 after their 60-59 First Four victory over Mississippi State on Tuesday night in Dayton.

We’ve long known that their potential opponent would be the Iowa State Cyclones (19-13), who finished fifth in a Big 12 conference that got seven teams into the tournament. The game is at 3:10 p.m. Friday in Greensboro, N.C.

With the matchup now set, let’s take a look at how the Panthers should prepare for the Cyclones — and at how the Cyclones fan base may be viewing the Panthers.

Here are five Cyclones storylines to keep in mind as the two teams prepare to tip off Friday.

• Pitt is coming off a game against one of the best defensive teams in the country in Mississippi State. Not surprisingly, it was a low-scoring affair, with just 119 points going up on the board.

Iowa State is also one of the best defensive teams in the country. They rank 22nd in the nation in points allowed per game at 62.8 and allow only 20.5 made field goals per game, sixth best in the country. Both of those numbers are tops in the Big 12. They are ninth in KenPom defensive efficiency.

By comparison, Mississippi State ranks ninth in the country at 61.0 points allowed per game, 10th in field goals allowed at 21.4 and sixth in KenPom defensive efficiency. The Panthers made 21 of 54 attempts Tuesday against the Bulldogs.

Travis Hines covers the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register. This was his assessment of the Cyclones getting Pitt instead of Mississippi State:

“When comparing the resumes, accomplishments and ratings for Iowa State’s two possible NCAA Tournament opponents, it was hard to reach a conclusion other than Pitt, rather than Mississippi State, would be the more advantageous matchup for the Cyclones. … The Panthers, ranked nearly 30 spots behind the Bulldogs by KenPom.com and 20 behind by the NET. … Beyond the analytics pinning Mississippi State as the superior team in the First Four matchup, Iowa State fans may have been pulling for Pitt because the Panthers offer up a profile the Cyclones have been successful against.

“Iowa State will put its nationally top-10 defense up against any opponent, and the Cyclones will certainly believe they’ll be able to mitigate the Panthers’ strong offense. Where Iowa State has struggled is against defense-first teams that force a lot of turnovers. The Panthers rank 141st nationally in defensive efficiency while turning opponents over on 16.7 percent of their possessions, which ranks 265th nationally.

“The Panthers have size and length that could cause Iowa State trouble, and they’ve got strong guard play as well. In terms of style of play and team strengths, though, the Cyclones have a favorable draw here.”

I’m sure Panthers fans would respond that it didn’t work out too well for Mississppi State.

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• For as good as Iowa State is defensively, they are not particularly good at defending the three-point shot. The Cyclones rank 182nd nationally (ninth in the 10-team Big 12) in three-point defense at 33.8%. Meanwhile, Pitt made 9.2 three-pointers per game this season, 28th nationally and second in the ACC.

Pitt hit eight three-point shots in the first half against Mississippi State and nine overall.

• Iowa State started the season 13-2 and 4-0 in Big 12 play. They ran into some hard times between Jan. 28 and Feb. 27. During that month of games, the Cyclones lost eight of 10, including four in a row, before beating Baylor to end the regular season.

Coach T.J. Otzelberger’s team then beat Baylor again in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament 78-72 prior to a 71-58 loss to Kansas in the second round.

In terms of common opponents, the Panthers beat North Carolina twice during ACC play. The Cyclones also beat them 70-65 when UNC was ranked No. 1 in the country back on Nov. 25. Meanwhile, the Panthers lost to West Virginia 81-56 on Nov. 11. The Mountaineers beat Iowa State twice during Big 12 play by a combined eight points.

• One of Iowa State’s top players was dismissed from the team on March 1. Caleb Grill was kicked off the team for an unspecified violation of team standards.

During a lengthy explanation on Twitter, Grill vaguely wrote, “I said something I regret.” The 6-foot-3 senior guard averaged 9.5 points in 31 minutes per game this season. He was third on the team in scoring.

Grill struggled down the stretch of the season, scoring just 11 points in his last four contests on 2-of-17 shooting. Iowa State’s leading scorer is St. Bonaventure transfer Jaren Holmes at 13.4 points per game. Minnesota transfer Gabe Kalscheur is next on the club at 12.9 points per contest.

• Pitt forward Blake Hinson was once a member of the Cyclones. He was in Ames during the summer of 2020 but sat out the ensuing season with a non-covid medical issue.

He then left the program a few weeks before the start of 2021-22.

Hinson landed at Pitt, averaging 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. The 6-foot-7, 235-pound forward is shooting 43% from the floor and 38.4% from three-point range.

This is Otzelberger’s second season with the Cyclones. They made the Sweet 16 a year ago with a 22-13 record.

Tim Benz and Jerry DiPaola recently talked about the Panthers’ victory over Mississippi State in a special edition of “Unfiltered.”