All season long the Cyclones were considered underdogs in terms of how they will finish the season.

On Tuesday, the fourth-seeded Cyclones will play as the favorite and try to stop the upset-minded 12th-seed University of Wisconsin — Green Bay from ending their season early.

“If you’re in the NCAA Tournament, you’re here for a reason,” said senior point guard Alison Lacey. “[Green Bay’s] excited to be here. They played really well [on Sunday]. So it doesn’t matter what seed they are. It doesn’t matter if we’re a four or they’re a 12. We’re both here for a reason and we have to prepare for that.”

This game will serve as a rematch for these two teams. The last time Iowa State met Green Bay in the NCAA Tournament was the 2005–’06 season where Iowa State held onto a 79–71 overtime victory in the first round.

For Iowa State, a trip to the Sweet 16 would mark the first time since the year span between 1999 and 2001 that the team would make consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

“To think about where we started and be 40 minutes away from the Sweet 16 is a great tribute to our players and to my staff,” said coach Bill Fennelly. “We have a tremendous challenge in Green Bay. I was very impressed with the way they played Virginia.”

A Sweet 16 spot would be the first for Green Bay. The Phoenix have made the NCAA Tournament nine times in the last 37 years, but have never made it past the second round.

Green Bay believes this season will be different. Only one No. 12 seed has ever made the Sweet 16 and the Phoenix would like to become the second team ever on Tuesday.

“We’re just going to compete on every single play,” said WisconsinWisconsin — Green Bay junior guard Celeste Hoewisch. “We’re going to play hard and fight you for everything. And I really am confident in our team. We play with a lot of heart and we’re going to be aggressive. We’ve come here to compete.”

This season has been one of the most successful seasons of all time for the Phoenix. At 27–4, Green Bay finished first in the Horizon League.

“All week long [the coaches] were telling us the great things we’ve accomplished this season and how we need to be hungry to accomplish more,” said Wisconsin — Green Bay junior forward Kayla Tetschlag. “It’s definitely not overconfidence but we’re just trying to pump ourselves to play a good game.”

Despite Green Bay being a mid-major team and not having much success in the NCAA Tournament, the Cyclones understand the amount of competition Green Bay will bring to Tuesday’s game.

“Green Bay’s one of those teams that have been good for a long time,” Fennelly said. “They’re someone that no one wants to schedule at Green Bay. They’re someone that you look at your bracket and think you don’t want to play them. They’ve had that reputation for a long time.”

Green Bay enters Tuesday’s game with the distinction of being the lowest seed to win in the NCAA Tournament. Despite turning the ball over 31 times, Green Bay was still able to win due to their “attack” style of offense that helped them force the Cavaliers to commit 28 personal fouls.

“They spread you out and play five people at the perimeter,” Fennelly said. “I think [Virginia was] so scared of guarding the three point line and [Green Bay] did a great job of attacking the basket.”

Of the 40 free throws the Phoenix attempted, they were able to convert 34. Green Bay scored 69 points with a little under half of those coming from the free throw line.

This provides a unique challenge for the Cyclones as they averaged 14 fouls per game this season.

“[Not fouling] is something we’ve been working on all season,” Lacey said. “Sometimes we’ve been good at [not fouling], sometimes we’ve been bad. I think on Tuesday it’s going to be our main focus. Our post players are going to have to guard away from the ball and our guards are going to have to guard inside sometimes.”

Another challenge the Cyclones will face will be the playing time of Lacey. It has been no secret; the Cyclones have struggled without her in the lineup. And with Lacey returning after an extended absence due to illness, questions have risen about how much she would be able to play during the first few rounds of the tournament.

“I could go the whole game [on Tuesday] no matter what,” Lacey said. “I woke up a little sore and kind of felt it more than I had after practice, but I think just getting after it [during practice] will be good for me and I think I’ll be ready to go [on Tuesday].”

The tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday.