Iowa State’s Joshua Jefferson gets crushing injury update for Kentucky game

Iowa State finally received the grim update it feared ahead of its March Madness Round of 32 matchup with Kentucky. The Cyclones will be forced to prepare to play without star forward Joshua Jefferson, who is trending in the wrong direction with a foot injury.

Jefferson hurt his ankle on a layup attempt just three minutes into an opening-round victory over Tennessee State. One day after limping into the locker room, Jefferson is now considered doubtful for Iowa State’s second-round contest against Kentucky on Sunday, college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman reported.

The Cyclones have likely been preparing to be without Jefferson since their first-round victory, given the optics of the injury. Jefferson could barely put any weight on his ankle on his way to the locker room, making it unlikely he would recover in just two days.

Iowa State had no issues beating 15-seed Tennessee State without its second-team All-American, but Kentucky provides a much stiffer challenge. The Wildcats are coming off a wild overtime victory over Santa Clara in the Round of 64 that featured the highlight of the tournament when Otega Oweh tied the game at the buzzer with a half-court prayer.

Without Jefferson, Iowa State followed the lead of freshman guard Killyan Toure in its win on Friday. Toure went off with a career-high 25 points to go with 11 rebounds and six assists.

While Toure is coming off the best game of his life, Iowa State will need sharpshooter Milan Momcilovic and point guard Tamin Lipsey to carry a heavier load than they did in its last game. The Cyclones are best when Lipsey, who had just three points against Tennessee State, is efficiently running their offense.

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