Thursday March 28th Local Sports
TODAY:
AM-1300 KGLO — Minnesota Twins at Kansas City — pre-game 2:30, first pitch 3:10
BOSTON — The 4th-ranked Iowa State men look to take another step toward the Final Four when they play Illinois in Boston tonight in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. The winner advances to Saturday’s championship of the NCAA East Regional. Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger says the Illini pose a number of challenges.
Illinois is one of the top scoring teams in the country.
Otzelberger says Illinois star guard Terrance Shannon has raised his level of play since transferring from Texas Tech.
Otzelberger says the Illini are tough to defend even without a true point guard.
Iowa State guard Curtis Jones says the Cyclones will need another big effort on defense.
Jones says ball pressure will be key against an Illini team that will have a size advantage.
Jones says transition defense will be key against an Illini team that like to run.
Illinois averages nearly 85 points per game while the Cyclones give up just over 61.
That’s Illinois coach Brad Underwood who says the Illini need to find ways to score and avoid turnovers that lead to easy Cyclone baskets.
Underwood says it is difficult to prepare for the kind of pressure Iowa State brings.
Illinois is 28-8.
IOWA CITY (AP) — Iowa’s Patrick McCaffery and Drake’s Tucker DeVries have entered the transfer portal.
== McCaffery, the son of Hawkeyes coach Fran McCaffery, has one year of eligibility remaining after starting 60 of his 123 games. He was a starter for the first half of the 2023-24 season. He averaged 8.9 points per game and scored 19 in the Hawkeyes’ loss at Utah in the NIT on Sunday. The 6-foot-9 forward had thyroid cancer when he was 13 and was declared cancer-free three months after his diagnosis. He missed six games last season to address anxiety symptoms that caused insomnia and a loss of appetite and energy.
== DeVries, the son of former Drake men’s basketball coach Darian DeVries, also entered the transfer portal on Wednesday. That news came after DeVries was scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery. DeVries ends his time at Drake as the two-time Missouri Valley Conference Larry Bird Player of the Year, leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament. In his junior year, DeVries averaged 21.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.
ALBANY — It will be a Sweet Sixteen rematch in Albany on Saturday when the 2nd-ranked Iowa Hawkeye women play Colorado in the NCAA Tournament. These teams met last season in a regional semifinal in Seattle and the Hawkeyes prevailed 87-77.
That’s Colorado coach JR Payne who says a tough Pac-12 slate has them prepared.
Senior forward Quay Miller on getting another crack at the Hawkeyes.
Miller says defending Iowa is more than just slowing down Caitlin Clark.
Tipoff on Saturday is scheduled for 2:30 with the pre-game at 2:15 on AM-1300 KGLO
IOWA CITY — Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz says starting quarterback Cade McNamara will be limited this spring as he recovers from a knee injury. McNamara suffered a season ending ACL injury in a week five win over Michigan State.
Ferentz says McNamara is taking part in practice as new offensive coordinator Tim Lester installs his changes.
Ferentz expects McNamara to be at full strength in a couple of months.
Iowa is in its second week of spring drills
MASON CITY — Two Mason City High School girls wrestlers signed national letters of intent on Wednesday with Iowa schools. Layla Phillips is heading to Simpson College in Indianola.
Simpson is coached by former Iowa Hawkeye and two-time NCAA champion Jeff McGinness. After winning the 105-pound title with a 43-3 record in her senior season, Phillips hopes to carry that success onto the college level.
Averi Peterson is heading to Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo.
Lovell was an All-American at Nebraska-Omaha and came to Hawkeye Community College after being the head wrestling coach for girls and boys at West Marshall. Peterson says it’s amazing to have the opportunity to wrestle at the college level.
Peterson was 33-15 her senior season.
