Top 15 ISU men’s basketball moments: Cyclones make improbable run to Sweet 16

Despite Iowa State losing one of their power four, the team rallied together in an improbable victory over North Carolina to make the Sweet 16. It ranks ninth in the top 15 moments of last season.

Mar 23, 2014; San Antonio, TX, USA; The Iowa State Cyclones bench celebrates beating the North Carolina Tar Heels in a men

Shortly after the Cyclones’ first round victory over North Carolina Central, word spread that Georges Niang would be out for the rest of the tournament.

The locker room was pretty solemn as you could expect, and Niang looked incredibly devastated. But the very next day, the team bounced back in attitude and knew that it just had to move on with the card that was dealt.

When it was dealt a big deficit toward the end of the game against the Tar Heels, it looked like Iowa State would miss out on the Sweet 16 again for the third straight season. The team was down by eight points with 4:22 left in the contest.

But Naz Long, who’s always had the stones to shoot from the perimeter at the end of games all season long for the Cyclones (Spoiler alert: You’ll hear from this guy again in the countdown), he made a couple of major 3-pointers to keep things close.

After a three from Monte Morris and a layup from Melvin Ejim, the stud made another shot from downtown to tie it up at 81 with 50 seconds to go. Then, DeAndre Kane sealed the deal with a layup and then the go-ahead field goal with one second left to seal the deal after North Carolina fumbled with the clock at the end of regulation.

Niang wasn’t there to help finish the deal, but the team still came together to rebound. It was the first Sweet 16 for Iowa State under Fred Hoiberg. The coach did a little dance and they shipped out Madison Square Garden.

Iowa State men’s basketball top 15 moments of 2013-14

15. DeAndre Kane’s perimeter shooting en route to Diamond Head Classic title

14. Monte Morris emerges, nearly hits double-double against Auburn

13. Cyclones hold on to win after blowing 18-point lead vs. Texas Tech

12. Redemption at Hilton Coliseum after getting blown out at West Virginia

11. 99 points against Northern Illinois in remembrance of Johnny Orr

10. Daniel Edozie’s block on BYU’s Tyler Haws to preserve Iowa State’s first road win

9. Iowa State heads to the Sweet 16 after comeback over North Carolina

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