T.J. Otzelberger obviously heard the concerns. It was basically all anyone had to say about his Iowa State men’s basketball team as its Final Four aspirations unraveled with injury and illness in the last month of the 2024-25 campaign .

Were the Cyclones , with their physical, bruising and relentless style, beating themselves up in practice and running themselves ragged in games? Did they need to dial it back and find a different sort of balance that keeps the intensity but preserves health over a long season?

Well, the Iowa State coach responded by teaching his team cage fighting this summer.

“The MMA (mixed martial arts) training correlates directly to everything we do on the court,” Otzelberger, who is beginning his fifth season at the helm of the Cyclones, said. “We want to be

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