Iowa State All-American Joshua Jefferson sprains ankle in opening minutes of NCAA tourney game

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson sprained his left ankle in the opening minutes of the second-seeded Cyclones’ 108-74 rout of No. 15 seed Tennessee State on Friday, leaving the All-American’s status in question for the rest of the NCAA Tournament.

The Cyclones’ second-leading scorer and top rebounder did not appear to be touched as he drove the lane for an open layup. But his entire 240-pound body came down on his left ankle as it turned beneath him, and Jefferson immediately dropped to the floor in front of the Iowa State bench as a hush came over a crowd filled with Cyclones fans.

X-rays were negative, Cyclones coach T.J. Otzelberger said, and Jefferson watched the second half of the game in a boot.

“We’ll continue to reevaluate over the next day or two and just see where things are on Sunday,” Otzelberger said.

That’s when the Cyclones play seventh-seeded Kentucky, which beat No. 10 seed Santa Clara in an overtime thriller earlier Friday.

“It’s a next-man-up (mentality),” Iowa State guard Dominick Nelson said. “It sucks. He’s one of our best players. But we have to have the next man up. We all put in the work every day. We all trust each other. We all see what each other does day-in and day-out.”

The 6-foot-9 Jefferson, who was averaging 16.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.9 assists, was a second-team AP All-American this season, missing out on the first team by a single point in voting. And he was dominant throughout the Big 12 Tournament last week, helping Iowa State beat Arizona State and Texas Tech before losing on a buzzer-beater to eventual champion Arizona.

The Cyclones were hoping he could continue to be the catalyst for a program that hasn’t been to the Final Four since 1944.

He may still get that chance. But it might take beating the Wildcats without him on Sunday.

It was clear that Jefferson was hurt the moment he landed. He lay flat on his back, then rolled over and slammed the floor twice with his hand, as Otzelberger and trainers came out to check on him. They eventually helped him to his feet and straight to an X-ray room at the Enterprise Center, and Jefferson emerged about 10 minutes later, using crutches.

“Obviously we didn’t know how bad he was hurt,” said the Cyclones’ Nate Heise, who had a season-high 22 points.

While Jefferson was being evaluated, Heise helped the Cyclones rip off a 23-0 run that allowed them to cruise to victory.

“He’s an unbelievable player. An unbelievable leader. Not having him out there brought a lot of challenges,” Otzelberger said of Jefferson, “but I’m proud of the guys, how they stepped up and trusted in one another.”

Jefferson, a senior from Las Vegas, began his career at Saint Mary’s, where his sophomore season was cut short by a leg injury. He transferred to Iowa State and quickly became a leader, helping the Cyclones to the second round of the NCAA tourney last year.

If he can’t play Sunday, Jefferson’s hope is that they go at least one step further and give him a chance to suit up again.

“We’re brothers, you know? So we’re playing for him,” Iowa State’s Killyan Toure said. “Everybody knows what they have to do during the game. We’ll keep playing hard and physical and yeah, we’ll play for him.”

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