KANSAS CITY – There were no tears. Faces were not buried in jerseys, hiding the pain. There was no consoling or commiserating.  

Even with angst bubbling under their skin and disappointment flooding their veins, Iowa State remained stoic. Solid. Steadfast. 

For the Cyclones knew the truth.  

This was a loss, yes, one with weight enough to crush your soul – basketball or eternal – but Iowa State saw its 82-80 loss on a buzzer-beater to second-ranked Arizona in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals for what it was. 

An epic featuring two teams worthy of playing in April. 

“We really respect Arizona and their program,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said after the March 13 los, “but just like they’re a Final Four contender, so are we.  

“And what our guys took away from tonight is that we have big things ahead of us coming next week, the following week and the week after that.” 

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There’s a key distinction between a moral victory and the validation of a conviction. 

A moral victory would be Iowa State feeling good about itself for playing the Wildcats, who along with Michigan and Duke have separated themselves as the class of the country, down to the wire. For giving Arizona all that it could handle. For giving it the ol’ college try. 

That, though, is not what Iowa State experienced. This wasn’t the Cyclones giving it their all and nearly toppling the league champs.  

This was a game among equals. 

The Cyclones walked off the floor, into the locker room and toward an NCAA Tournament knowing that, deep in their bones. For them, it is not an opinion. It is fact. As irrefutable as the sun rising in the east or all of Ames heading south to fill T-Mobile Center the second week of March. 

“Probably one of the most competitive college basketball games of the year,” guard Tamin Lipsey said.  

“We know we can compete with them.” 

This game may have been played on a Friday night in Kansas City, but it just as easily could have been contended on the first Saturday or Monday of April in Indianapolis. The level of play was sublime. The defense was excellent, but the offense was on another level.

The two teams combined to score on their final 11 possessions of the game. Seven of those possessions ended with made 3-pointers, including the game-tying one with 15 seconds left from Lipsey, who was 1-of-10 from the floor before burying that equalizer. 

Then, though, Jaden Bradley got his legend moment. 

The senior and Big 12 Player of the Year wanted to take Iowa State’s young Frenchman, Killyan Toure, off the dribble. Thought he could get by the freshman, to the bucket and into the championship game. 

Instead, Toure played immaculate defense. He stopped Bradley’s progress. He redirected him, not only from his preferred path but actually away from the basket. Toure stayed in lockstep. As the final seconds ticked down, Bradley was left with only one option – turn, shoot and pray. 

As that prayer hung in the Missouri air, you could almost feel the basketball gods debating their judgment. Weighing these Cyclones and Wildcats against each other as the ball rose up and out of Bradley’s hand and then rendering a verdict as it fell back toward Earth. 

On this night, the deities decreed for the team from the desert. 

Iowa State men fall to Arizona in classic Big 12 Tournament semifinal

Iowa State men fall to Arizona in classic Big 12 Tournament semifinal

“So it was a crazy shot,” Bradley said, “but it was a great defense, for sure.” 

You might have to stop short of calling Toure’s defense perfect, but only because the dang shot went in. It’s hard to imagine him playing the moment any better. 

“He made a tough shot,” Toure said. “I did my best. Unfortunately, it went in. 

“Of course it hurts. It hurts a little bit, but it’s part of the game. I just have to move on with the team because we’ve got the March Madness coming up. It’s OK. It will help me for the future, and for the team as well.  

“That was a good experience.” 

Oftentimes in a locker room after a loss like that, there’s a current of disbelief that runs through. A sort of shock mixed with frustration, anger and, perhaps most potently, sadness. 

That was not the scene in Iowa State’s locker room. 

The Cyclones stood there bloody and bruised, like a prizefighter losing on a split decision that only makes the inevitable – another shot at the belt – all the more alluring. Because it’s not only within sight, it’s within grasp. 

“We’re playing our best right now,” Milan Momcilovic said after scoring 28 points and making eight 3s. “We’re clicking on both sides of the ball.  

“I think no team really wants to see us in the tournament because we are ready to play and we’re a fierce competitor.” 

The Cyclones will shuffle onto the bus Saturday morning for the ride back to Ames. As those 200 miles pass by their windows, it would be easy to think about what might have been. To wish they could have made one more shot. To lament not getting one more stop. To wonder what might have been in overtime.