Iowa History Daily: On March 21, 1986, Johnny Orr’s Iowa State Cyclones fell to Jim Valvano’s NC State Wolfpack in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Led by Jeff Hornacek, the team made the deepest run of Orr’s career at ISU.
The Cyclones entered Orr’s sixth season in Ames with high expectations. Led by team captains Ron Virgil and Jeff Hornacek, the Cyclones battled through the season with a 22-11 (9-5 Big Eight) record and rode momentum into the Big Eight Tournament final where Kansas Edged out the Cyclones 73-71.
Into the NCAA Tournament as a 7 seed, the Cyclones started a Cinderella run to the Sweet Sixteen with a 81-79 overtime win over Miami of Ohio at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis. In front of a crowd featuring many Cyclone fans, Iowa State beat Michigan 72-69 to advance out of the second round.
Sent to Hilton South at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Cyclone fans raced down Interstate 35 to witness a matchup with Jimmy V’s Wolfpack. Although Iowa State ultimately fell to NC State 66-70, the run proved memorable as Orr’s only Sweet Sixteen at Iowa State. #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar #IowaOTD
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