2022 NCAA Tournament: three Iowa State players to watch

You probably haven’t had much of a chance to watch the Iowa State Cyclones this year, so we have taken the liberty of highlighting a trio of players that you should be focused on in the game on Sunday night. The Badgers are only favored by 4.5 points, according to our friends at DraftKings, so every possession will count in this game.

Here is who we think will have a big effect on the game and help decide who moves on to the Sweet 16.

Tyrese Hunter, 6-foot, 178 pounds, freshman, No. 11

• The Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and native of Racine, was third in the Big 12 in assists per game with 4.9. He also averages 10.8 points per game, 3.4 rebounds and adds two steals per game too. Hunter had a monster performance in ISU’s first round game against LSU, scoring 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from deep, picking up five steals and dishing out three assists. The former 4-star prospect was not offered by Greg Gard and the Badgers and may be looking to prove a point in his home state against his home state team. Hunter and Brockington are both high usage players and will require the full attention of UW’s defense.

Izaiah Brockington, 6-foot-4, 196 pounds, senior, No. 1

• The Philadelphia native, and grad transfer from Penn State, leads the team in scoring with 17.2 points per game and rebounding with 7.1 per game. He was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year and made 37.6% (33-of-89) of his three point attempts on the season. Brockington rarely comes off the court, draws a bunch of fouls and doesn’t turn the ball over much. He’ll be a tough assignment for Brad Davison or Johnny Davis.

Photo by Ben Solomon/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

Aljaž Kunc, 6-foot-8, 215 pounds, senior, No. 5

• The big man from Slovenia, and transfer from Washington State, didn’t start against LSU, but had started the previous eight games for the Cyclones. He isn’t a huge scoring threat, only scoring in double figures twice in his last 10 games, but did shoot 36-of-91 from deep (39.6%) on the season. Kunc (pictured left) is active on the defensive glass and is a solid rim protector as well. The Clones don’t have a ton of size, but Kunc and 6-foot-9 George Conditt are both good at altering shots at the rim.