In land of tall corn, is it a tall order to ask Cyclones and Hawkeyes fans to unite for Sweet 16?
It’s a cornucopia of basketball this week in the state that produces the most corn.
For the first time, the Iowa State Cyclones and Iowa Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 of the men’s NCAA Tournament in the same year. Fans for both schools should unite — right? — and declare that for at least a few days, “We all are Cy-Hawks.”
Not happening.
All Iowans can agree, however, that having two of the last 16 teams standing is pretty cool and that fans of both will be tuned in when the Hawkeyes play border rival Nebraska in Houston on Thursday night and the Cyclones face Tennessee in Chicago on Friday night.
Sure, the Lone Star State can boast it has the Texas Longhorns and Houston Cougars in the Sweet 16, and the Great Lakes State can tout Michigan and Michigan State.
The Hawkeye State — some surely would prefer to call it the Cyclone State — is different. Just 3.2 million people live across the 300 miles separating the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The state is best known for sorting out pretenders and contenders in presidential elections with its caucuses, serving as the setting for the classic baseball movie “Field of Dreams” and, of course, corn and pork production.
In Iowa, having two teams in the Sweet 16 just might be the best thing since sliced bread, which happened to be invented by a guy from Davenport.
“It’s definitely one of the biggest developments I’ve ever covered,” said Heather Burnside, who co-hosts a show on Des Moines sports radio station KXNO. “I think both fan bases are excited we still have basketball to talk about at a time where normally one fan base would be looking at the other one with envy.”
The second-seeded Cyclones were first to advance Sunday when, after losing star Joshua Jefferson to an ankle injury minutes into their tournament opener, they rolled past 7-seed Kentucky 82-63. The Hawkeyes topped that accomplishment hours later when, as a No. 9 seed, they knocked out defending national champion and top-seeded Florida, 73-72.
Iowa State’s T.J. Otzelberger and Iowa’s Ben McCollum have built their teams in a way that reflects the Midwestern work ethic. What the teams lack in flashiness they make up for in grittiness.
“It’s just tough kids,” said McCollum, who was talking about his team but just as easily could have been describing the Cyclones. “They fight. They compete. They stick with it. They exemplify everything that we’ve wanted in Iowa basketball. They’ve established the foundation that we’ve desperately needed, and couldn’t be any more proud of them.”
Beyond their playing styles, the teams are extremely relatable to their fans.
The Cyclones’ star point guard, Tamin Lipsey, is a hometown kid from Ames and among three Iowans on the roster. Five other players are from bordering Wisconsin and Minnesota. Otzelberger, who grew up in Wisconsin, is married to Alison Lacey, who played her senior year of high school basketball 20 minutes from Ames in Huxley and was a three-time All-Big 12 basketball player for the Cyclones.
McCollum was born in Iowa City and raised in Storm Lake. His wife, Michelle, is an Iowa girl who grew up near Storm Lake, in Albert City. Naturally, the McCollums first met at a high school basketball game. Ben McCollum played college ball at Northwest Missouri State, coached his alma mater to four Division II national championships over 15 years and then led Drake to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his only season at the Des Moines school.
There are only two Hawkeyes players from the state, but standout guard Bennett Stirtz is among six from Missouri and 3-point shooting specialist Cooper Koch is from Illinois. Koch’s dad, J.R. Koch, played on the 1999 team that was the Hawkeyes’ last to make the Sweet 16.
One other nugget: Nebraska, the Hawkeyes’ opponent, is coached by Fred Hoiberg. He’s the Ames kid known as “The Mayor” when he played for Iowa State in the 1990s and coach of the Cyclones’ Sweet 16 team in 2014. Hoiberg remains a beloved sports figure in the state.
“So there are Iowa State fans who don’t know what to do,” Burnside said, “or they absolutely know what to do, which is to root for Nebraska and Fred Hoiberg over Iowa.”
For her part, Burnside’s fandom has evolved. She grew up in southeastern Iowa cheering the Hawkeyes. “Then I went to Iowa State to major in journalism and decided I better put my mouth where my money went,” she said.
Burnside estimated the state’s fan split at 70-30 in favor of the Hawkeyes historically but now closer to 50-50 given the Cyclones’ increased relevance in football the last decade and their 40 years of strong basketball. Many fans are expected to make the relatively short trek to Chicago.
Even though the schools have long competed in different conferences — the Cyclones in the Big 12 and the Hawkeyes in the Big Ten — the rivalry is real. Generally speaking, Iowa fans look at Iowa State as little brother, the land-grant school with less academic prestige, and Iowa State fans look at the folks in Iowa City as having an annoying air of superiority. Annual Cy-Hawk Series games in football and basketball are circled on the calendar.
“I do know people who don’t wish ill will on Iowa State or Iowa, and vice versa,” Burnside said, “but there are a lot of fans who say, ‘They’re our rival. I don’t want them to do anything good, ever.’”
Conceivably, the Cyclones and Hawkeyes could meet in the national championship game. That would require each team to win three more games, and few believe that will happen. But what if?
“It would be absolutely bonkers,” Burnside said. “I’m not sure there would be enough Busch Light to handle an Iowa-Iowa State national championship game.”
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness