AMES – Selection Sunday usually sends coaches scrambling. 

There’s a mad dash to collect as much information as possible to face an unfamiliar team on short notice in the NCAA Tournament. 

That’s not really the case for Iowa State and South Dakota State this season. 

The East Region’s second-seeded Cyclones and the No. 15 Jackrabbits are well acquainted. They meet at 6:35 p.m. CT Thursday in Omaha (TruTV).

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Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger was South Dakota State’s head coach from 2016-19. Eric Henderson, then an Otzelberger assistant, took over as the Jackrabbits’ coach following Otzelberger’s departure. 

That’s just the start, though. 

Henderson is a former Cyclone staffer under Greg McDermott while Jackrabbit assistant Bryan Peterson is a former Cyclone who played for McDermott. Current Jackrabbit staffers Tyler Glidden (a former Iowa State manager and graduate assistant) and Rob Klinkefus both worked for Otzelberger. 

“Across the board, from the trainer to the strength coach,” Otzelberger said, “I know all those guys and worked with them.  

“They’re friends and we’ll continue to be friends, and on Thursday I’m sure we’ll both aim to do the best we can to come out with a win.” 

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Otzelberger went 70-33 while going to two NCAA Tournaments in his three seasons in Brookings. Henderson has gone 109-47 over five seasons with now two NCAA Tournaments on his resume. 

“Coach Henderson does a great job,” Otzelberger said. “They won the league outright, won the tournament. To do that you’ve got have a really good group. I’ve watched them a fair amount through the season because of my relationship with coach Henderson and their coaching staff from my time there.  

“Really good team.”

Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or  (515) 284-8000. Follow him at @TravisHines21.