Milan Momcilovic scored 19 points to help second-seeded Iowa State post an 82-65 victory over South Dakota State in a first-round East Region matchup on Thursday night at Omaha, Neb.
Tamin Lipsey added 17 points and seven assists for the Cyclones (28-7), who won their fourth straight game and eighth in their last nine. Keshon Gilbert had 15 points and three steals, Curtis Jones scored 11 points and Hason Ward had 10 points for Iowa State.
Zeke Mayo scored 19 points and William Kyle III had 14 for the 15th-seeded Jackrabbits (22-13), who had an eight-game winning streak snapped. Charlie Easley added 11 points for South Dakota State, which committed 15 turnovers.
The Jackrabbits are 0-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament play at the Division I level.
Iowa State will face either No. 7 Washington State or No. 10 Drake on Saturday.
The Cyclones, who led by as many as 25 points, shot 57.9 percent from the field, including 11 of 23 from 3-point range.
The Jackrabbits connected on 43.4 percent of their attempts and made 10 of 24 from behind the arc.
South Dakota State trailed by four early in the second half before the Cyclones ripped off 12 consecutive points. Ward capped the burst with a dunk to give Iowa State a 54-38 lead with 16:15 left in the game.
Mayo drained a 3-pointer to end a Jackrabbits’ drought of more than four minutes. However, Jones scored five straight points for the Cyclones to push the lead to 18 with 13:28 remaining.
Momcilovic knocked down a jumper to make it 66-46 with 9:16 left and Iowa State continued to hold a comfortable lead.
Momcilovic scored 12 first-half points as the Cyclones led 40-33 at the break. Mayo scored 11 in the half for South Dakota State, which committed nine turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
Iowa State scored the first seven points and held a 17-3 lead after Ward’s dunk with 15:15 left in the half. The lead reached 22-7 on Lipsey’s trey with 13:30 remaining.
The Jackrabbits scored 10 straight points and pulled within five on three free throws by Mayo with 10:09 left.
Gilbert’s fast-break dunk make it 29-19 with 8:46 left before South Dakota State trimmed its deficit to seven at the break.
–Field Level Media