Iowa State basketball star suffers scary leg injury
Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson suffered a scary injury during the first half of the Cyclones’ first-round NCAA tournament game against Tennessee State on March 20. MORE: High Point postgame interview goes viral immediately after stunning upset Jefferson, Iowa State’s leading rebounder, limped off the court, unable to put weight on his left foot after meeting with team trainers. Iowa State, the number-2 seed, is in no danger of losing to Tennessee State, the number-15 seed in the Midwest Region bracket.
The Cyclones lead, 55-29 at halftime. But Jefferson’s injury could put a damper on their hopes of making a deep tournament run. Jefferson, a 6-foot-9 senior from Las Vegas, averaged 16.
9 points, 7. 6 rebounds, 4. 9 assists and 47.
0 percent shooting from the floor during the 2025-26 season. The newly named All-American landed awkwardly, turned his left ankle, and fell to the court pursuing a rebound less than three minutes into the game. Jefferson headed into the locker room and did not return in the first half.
Milan Momcilovic scored 12 points in the first half on 5-of-7 shooting. “Hopefully our All-American is doing good,” Momcilovic told CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein just before heading into the locker room at halftime. Reporter Shannon Ehrhardt of KCCI in Iowa reported that Jefferson was “moving very slow on crutches” while his left ankle was taped heavily with ice.