SOUTH BEND, Ind. – After the Iowa State women’s basketball team survived a close call with Princeton in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday night, Cyclones coach Bill Fennelly told his team he wanted them to celebrate the victory and not worry about Friday’s opponent.

His staff had already been preparing for the game.

The 11-seed Cyclones (23-11) will take on 6-seed Michigan (22-10) in the first round of March Madness on Friday at 10:30 a.m. CT, at Purcell Pavilion. It’s a matchup Fennelly’s staff had already been getting ready for since Selection Sunday since the Wolverines would be waiting for the winner of Wednesday’s game.

Watch Iowa State women’s basketball vs Michigan live on Fubo (free trial)

“That was the one thing, if you were lucky enough to win, you knew who you were going to play,” Fennelly said. “It wasn’t the winner of a certain game. So, we did have some information.”

Every minute of preparation helps this time of year with quick turnarounds. Because Iowa State was in one of the First Four contests, the Cyclones knew exactly what would be awaiting them if they made it to the first round.

So, Fennelly had several of his assistant coaches, Latoja Schaben, Emily Hatfield and Rob Jenkins prepare a scouting report.  That way, the Cyclones could hit the ground running right after Wednesday night’s win.

The group of coaches met later Wednesday evening and broke things down. Fennelly stood in front of a whiteboard while his staff yelled out to him things that stood out about Michigan.

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That way, his players could rest up and enjoy the victory over Princeton. Fennelly and his staff didn’t even bring Michigan up to the team until they met Thursday morning. By then, the coaching staff had a good grasp of the opponent.

“They’re a really talented team,” said Iowa State guard Emily Ryan. “Lots of scoring weapons all around and defensively, they’re really solid and aggressive as well. So, a really good team.”

Here are three things to watch in Friday’s contest.

Michigan plays five guards

The Wolverines often play with five guards, which Iowa State has yet to encounter this season. That allows Michigan to play fast and efficiently. It ranks 25^th in the nation in scoring, averaging 78.1 points per game. The Wolverines shot 45% from the field and despite relying so much on guard play, do the bulk of their scoring from inside the perimeter.

“It’s (a matter of) can we keep them out of the lane, off the dribble,” Fennelly said. “The other thing that they do that we haven’t seen a lot is, they’ll rebound with all five guys. I mean, they’ll send five. Their guards go hard. That’s a challenge for us.”

Iowa State could have a mismatch opportunity with Audi Crooks

The Cyclones usually have the edge in the post with Crooks. The sophomore center led the Big 12 Conference in scoring and was a big reason for Iowa State’s come-from-behind victory Wednesday night. Her 6-foot-3 frame could pose plenty of problems for Michigan and its smaller lineup.

Iowa State, ironically, had a similar encounter in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament against Maryland. Crooks shot 18-of-20 from the floor and finished with 40 points.

“They start five guards, so obviously we have to change a few things, defensively,” said Iowa State guard Arianna Jackson. “I would say that goes both ways. They have to plan regarding Audi. When we get the ball to Audi, that’s a good matchup.”

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The tempo will be much faster than Wednesday

Iowa State played a remarkably slow and methodical team in Princeton on Wednesday night. That won’t be the case for Friday’s matchup. The Wolverines will push it and go, go, go. One of the keys for Iowa State will be to keep Michigan from dictating the pace of the game.

That hasn’t been easy for opposing teams who sometimes tend to get sped up trying to keep up with Michigan.

“Just staying and going back to what we know, our type of offense, I think is going to be key, especially how fast Michigan plays,” Jackson said.

Iowa State women’s basketball vs. Michigan prediction

The season has been full of ups and downs for Iowa State, but it has found a groove lately, winning eight of the last 10 games. Both losses came to Baylor. While Michigan will be a tough matchup, the Wolverines don’t do many of the things that typically pose problems for the Cyclones.

Strong 3-point shooting and physical defenses are usually Iowa State’s biggest bugaboo. With a matchup that benefits Iowa State, the Cyclones likely will end up one win away from the Sweet 16.

Iowa State 79, Michigan 71

Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.