Iowa State updates status of injured forward Joshua Jefferson
A big situation here.
Mar 20, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) is helped off of the court after suffering an apparent injury to his left leg against Tennessee State Tigers during the first half of a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images There’s one large unknown heading into Friday night’s Sweet 16 matchup between Iowa State and Tennessee.
That’s the status of Iowa State forward and second-leading scorer Joshua Jefferson, who missed the round of 32 with an ankle injury. Jefferson suffered the injury in the first round against Tennessee State. On Wednesday, Iowa State head coach TJ Otzelberger gave an update on how things are progressing.
“He’s working tirelessly everyday,” Otzelberger said of Jefferson. “Countless sessions in the training room, everything he can. His ankle is getting better every single day.
It’s going to take right up to game time , we’re going to give it every possible chance to do that, and he’s doing everything that he can do. “There’s not any percentages, predictions — unlikely, likely — it is literally he is working tirelessly to do everything, to compete, everything he can do to be on the court for our team. We’ll see, each day there is significant progress, but we’ll see where we’re at game time Friday night.