Too big. Too strong. Too athletic. That was the consensus as Iowa State approached their third round game in the NCAA tournament against red-hot UCLA.

As they have been doing the entire year, the Cyclones proved the experts wrong by pummeling UCLA 80-56 to advance to the Elite Eight, where they will face the Michigan State Spartans.

“I’m really proud of our team. We really went out and got our ‘A’ game on the floor. It was one of our best games of the year,” ISU coach Larry Eustachy said.

The Cyclones again used a balance attack, as five Cyclones scored at least nine points, with four tallying between 14 and 16.

Continuing his postseason tear was Jamaal Tinsley. The flashy point guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., missed a triple double by one rebound, scoring 14 points, dishing 11 assists, and also grabbing nine boards. He added four steals for good measure.

“Jamaal is a tremendous talent. When he sets his mind to it, he can do anything he wants on the basketball floor. And there isn’t a player in the nation that can stop him one-on-one with the ball,” forward Marcus Fizer said.

“We were really concerned with the way Tinsley could drive before the game. And even though we really worked on that, he still was able to penetrate and create not only for himself, but his teammates as well. That really tells you something about him. He’s very special,” Bruin head coach Steve Lavin said.

Fizer, the first-team All-American who had been averaging over 25 points in the postseason, scored 16 and grabbed nine rebounds as well.

“Like I said before, ‘Welcome again to what is not the Marcus Fizer show.’ We have talent all over the court, and we showed it again tonight,” Fizer said.

Iowa State came out strong and never wavered, as they trailed for the final time at 11-10. The Cyclones steadily built their advantage throughout the first half, as they took a 40-28 lead into intermission.

And it was more of the same in the second half. In fact, Iowa State won this stanza 40-28 as well, taking their biggest lead at 25 with under a minute to play.

The Cyclones held UCLA — a team who shot 63 percent and scored 105 points in a second-round rout of Maryland — to 34 percent from the field.

“They did a nice job on us overall. They never really let us get into a flow offensively, and our hats are off to Iowa State after that performance,” Lavin said.

Point guard Earl Watson, who scored 17 points and had 16 assists in the previous game, was held to eight points and five assists.

“I didn’t do anything different than usual. Coach always tells us to stay in front of our man and play fundamentally sound. That’s what I had to do against a great player like that,” Michael Nurse said.

The shooting guard was one of three Cyclones to score 16.

The only one Bruin in double figures was center Jerome Moiso with 12.

The Cyclones now will take on the Spartans, considered by many the top team in the nation.

“We know what’s ahead of us. They are the best team in the country, and it’s basically going to be a home game for them. We’re going to have to play a near-perfect game to even stay close, in my opinion,” Eustachy said.

It should be noted, however, that it was also Eustachy’s opinion before Iowa State took on Kansas that the game might be the biggest blowout in the history of Hilton Coliseum.

By Kansas.

Iowa State went on to win the game, 74-66.

As the game was in its final minute, Eustachy ventured down the bench offering handshakes to his charges. He looked at them and said, “Nice job. 40 minutes to the Final Four.”

Iowa State will have a tough road to Indianapolis, but as this team has proven all year, it’s not a good idea to count them out.