The past couple of days have been my favorite time in sports all year. That's right, it's March Maddness time!
Last night I took Nolan with me to Hilton Coliseum, where we watched the Iowa State Cyclone women's basketball team defeat the University of Texas-Arlington Mavericks 78-71 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. UT Arlington is a member of the Sun Belt Conference. The Mavericks actually played well to start the game, and they led the Cyclones by as many as 12 points in the first half. Thankfully, Ashley Joens was there to lead the comeback for Iowa State. She scored a season-high 36 points for the Cyclones.
The game did not tip-off until 9:00, so it was way past Nolan's bedtime by the time it was over. He actually stayed awake for the entire game, and he did a good job cheering for the Cyclones. The Iowa State women will now play Georgia tomorrow for a chance to move onto the sweet 16. This was the fourth time that I have seen the ISU women play in the NCAA tournament. The previous times were in 2019 when they defeated New Mexico State, a 2014 loss to Florida State, and a victory over Florida State in 2001.
Of course, the women were not the only Cyclone team that came up big last night. The men opened the first round of the NCAA tournament with a victory of their own, defeating the LSU Tigers by a score of 59-54. Tyrese Hunter was the player of the game for Iowa State, as he connected on 7 threes, including a pair of huge triples at the end of the game. The ISU men will face-off with Wisconsin tomorrow. It's always a lot more fun to follow the NCAA tournament when your team is still playing!
