Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy got a feeling early on in the Cyclones’ second round NCAA Tournament game against Auburn.

“I’ll be honest with you. There was a point in that game very early, when I was walking down the sideline and thought we were at Hilton, that we were at home. And all of a sudden it dawned on me that we weren’t going to lose this game because we don’t lose at home,” Eustachy said.

Led once again by All-American Marcus Fizer, his team proved him right.

The Cyclones advanced into the third Sweet Sixteen in the school’s history by defeating Auburn 79-60 in the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Fizer scored 22 points (16 in the second half) and added 12 rebounds as well, but says he isn’t the only player teams need to concentrate on.

“If teams are going to continue to concentrate just on me, then we’re going to continue to win. We have guys like Michael, Kantrail, Jamaal and Stevie that can light it up,” Fizer said.

His mates proved him right on this day, as three other Cyclones scored in double figures.

Johnson was particularly solid, scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Tinsley added 12 points along with six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

And Guard Michael Nurse missed only one shot en route to 14 points.

The first half was a nip-and-tuck affair, with Iowa State trailing 33-32 at the break.

The Tigers shot 52 percent during the first half and were allowed several open looks at the basket.

“I was very disappointed at the way we came out and guarded, especially in a game of this magnitude. We gave them 14 uncontested shots in that half. I’m not sure what the total was in the second half, but I would bet it’s under five,” Eustachy said.

Down 41-38 with 15:26 left in the second half, the Cyclones took over. After a short spurt that tied the game at 43, Tinsley nailed two consecutive three-pointers that gave Iowa State a 49-43 lead.

“That was without a doubt the turning point of the game. It was one of those things where I said ‘What the hell… Oh, good shot Jamaal, keep going’,” Eustachy said.

“Those shots were very big. I knew our team needed to make a shot, and they were giving me the room, so I shot it and it went in,” Tinsley said.

Auburn forward Daymeon Fishback felt that the threes were “tremendous backbreakers for us.”

They would go on to score 8 of the next 10 points in the game, and the lead of 12 with under nine minutes left proved insurmountable the rest of the way.

On Thursday, it was a 12-0 run that catapulted the ‘Clones to the win over Central Connecticut State.

On Saturday, it was a 14-2 spurt that proved decisive in Iowa State’s largest win in NCAA Tournament history.

“That’s not the first time we’ve done that this year. We get down at a certain point and then go on a crazy run and take the game over. I don’t know what it is, but I’m sure coach wants us to stop it and win the game in the first two minutes,” Nurse said.

The Cyclones never substituted in the second half after getting 16 solid minutes from the bench in the first half.

Nurse said by now the Cyclones are used to it.

“I don’t know if it’s by design, but we’ve got a very tough group, and we’ve fought through a lot of adversity this year. We’ve done it before, and I think it might happen again. You have to give the coaches credit, because if it wasn’t for the running and hard practices at the beginning of the year, we wouldn’t be able to tough it out,” Nurse said.

Of the 26,328 spectators that were in attendance, it was estimated following the game that 20,000 or so were ISU fans, something that did not escape Eustachy.

“What a huge disadvantage that must’ve been for Auburn. There were times when I thought we were in Hilton,” Eustachy said.

The Cyclones will now take on UCLA, who advanced to the Sweet 16 by pounding Maryland 105-70 Saturday night.

The game will be Thursday night at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

“This team doesn’t want to lose,” Nurse said. “We don’t want to let the dust fall on the balls yet.”