Iowa State will take on Ball State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. The winner will advance to Saturday’s Sweet 16 matchup in Berkeley, Calif. The Daily broke down each of the teams:

A look at Ball State

Ball State made its NCAA tournament debut on Sunday a memorable one.

Thanks to a 71-55 win, the No. 12-seeded Cardinals put an end to No. 5-seed Tennessee’s streak of 27 consecutive Sweet 16 appearances.

The win sent shock waves through college basketball, but it was yet another highlight added to what has already been a historic season for the Cardinals.

Filling the head coaching spot left vacant by Tracy Roller, who resigned in last April, first year coach Kelly Packard led Ball State to its best record and first MAC tournament title in the program’s history.

The Cardinals’ record-setting season has been made possible in large part by a potent offense, which ranks 26th in the nation in scoring offense (72.0 ppg). Senior guard Porchia Green, a member of the All-MAC first team, leads a Ball State starting line-up that features four players who are averaging double figures (Green, 12.6 ppg, junior Danielle Gratton, 12.0 ppg, junior Emily Maggert, 13.5 ppg, junior Audrey McDonald, 11.6 ppg).

Ball State’s offense came through once again against Tennessee as Green and McDonald combined for 41 of the Cardinals’ 71 points.

After a closely contested first half, Ball State ballooned its one-point halftime lead into a commanding 16-point triumph over the two-time defending national champion Volunteers.

The ending of the next chapter in Ball State’s Cinderella season will be determined by how the Cardinals confront Iowa State’s No. 10-ranked scoring defense (opponents average only 53.8 ppg).

A look at Iowa State

When Iowa State was preparing to start post-season play two weeks ago, coach Bill Fennelly said how far his team progresses in the tournament will depend above all else on one main factor — consistent guard play.

Before the start of NCAA Tournament the Cyclones’ three main guards — Heather Ezell, Alison Lacey and Kelsey Bolte — had not played a game all season in which all three of them scored double figures. That ended Sunday night.

Sporting its highest tournament seed since 2002, the fourth-seeded Cyclones made easy work of East Tennessee State in the opening round, unleashing a 85-53 offensive thrashing of the Buccaneers.

While Iowa State saw scoring from 14 of its 15 players, the contribution from the trio of Ezell, Lacey and Bolte had a notable impact.

Lacey’s hot-shooting from her last two games (averaging 18.5 ppg) continued as she led the team with 18 points — all from three-point range. Ezell and Bolte followed her lead by adding 12 and 11 points. The three guards were responsible for 11 of the Cyclones’ tournament record 16 3-pointers scored against the Buccaneers.

The trio’s combined 41 points was part of a defensive-minded Iowa State team that had scored no more than 62 points in its last five games.

A offensive effort like the one on display Sunday will be needed from the Cyclone guards, as well as the rest of the team, in order to hang with high-scoring Ball State (72.0 ppg).

“They can score and we don’t play many teams that have four people averaging in double figures,” Fennelly said during the team’s press conference Monday. “They shoot the three great, and they are an outstanding free throw shooting team. Offensively, their balance is an issue.”

Like Sunday, a large portion of Iowa State’s offensive production comes from three-point range. The Cyclones are No. 10 in the nation in 3-point scoring, averaging 7.8 treys per game. Ball State, however, is no stranger to success from beyond the arc, as the Cardinals are only seven spots behind Iowa State, with an average of 7.2 three-pointers per game.