DENVER -- Arkansas-Little Rock stopped Purdue's big men to post an improbable upset on Thursday, but the Trojans were no match for Georges Niang.
Niang scored 28 points, Matt Thomas had 16 and fourth-seeded Iowa State beat No. 12 Little Rock 78-61 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional on Saturday.
The Cyclones (23-11) advanced to face top-seeded Virginia in the Sweet 16 in Chicago next weekend.
Roger Woods had 19 points and Lis Shoshi scored 10 for the Trojans, who couldn't find the same magic that gave them the first-round, double-overtime upset of Purdue on Thursday.
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Josh Hagins, whose 31 points led the comeback against the Boilermakers, scored only eight points.
Niang, who was injured and didn't play in the Sweet 16 two years ago, delivered for the Cyclones. He had 17 points in the first half when Iowa State raced past Little Rock.
"He's a pro," Little Rock coach Chris Beard said. "He'll play in the NBA. He's as good as advertised."
The Trojans couldn't contain Niang, who passed Barry Stevens for second place on the program's career scoring list. Niang has 2,198 points. Jeff Grayer is first on the list with 2,502 points.
The senior is also the winningest player in school history with 97. He made sure of it with a dominant game from the inside and outside to put Iowa State into the second weekend of the tournament.
"I'm really excited," he said. "This is what you work for. Being a little kid, just dreaming about playing in situations like this, or playing in moments like this. To have the chance to do it, I think that's really cool."
While Niang provided the offense, fellow senior Monte Morris' defense on Hagins was key in stopping the guard.
With Morris taking on the primary task of guarding Hagins, the Cyclones did what Purdue couldn't -- contain him. He was 3 of 8 from the field and was harassed by Iowa State's defense throughout the game.
"Monte did an unbelievable job just himself in one-on-one situations, isolations, keeping him in front, taking away his shot," Thomas said. "As a team, we're all in gaps, trying to plug gaps. We had seen him will his team to win against Purdue, so we knew what he was capable of coming into this one (Saturday)."
Hagins, who scored 29 points in the second half and overtimes against the Boilermakers, had only six in the second half against the Cyclones.
"They put together a really good defensive game plan," Hagins said. "They made me give it up. I couldn't get too many looks. That's all credit to them."
Hagins did give the Trojans hope with two 3-pointers to make it 65-52, the exact lead the Boilermakers had Thursday before its collapse.
There was no comeback this time. Abdel Nader hit a 3-pointer and a fast-break layup and Niang converted a three-point play to give the Cyclones a 76-57 lead with 1:37 left.
Iowa State led 40-28 at halftime and quickly expanded the lead with a 13-2 run to start the second. Five players scored in the run to make it 55-35 with 12:31 remaining.
Little Rock scored seven straight points to pull within 13, but Thomas' third 3-pointer of the night made it 62-42.
Iowa State gained control with a 10-0 run late in first half that made it 36-24.
Hagins hit a jumper just before the half for his first points of the game. They were his only two points of the half, which matched his total in Thursday's first half against Purdue.
Little Rock's only lead was 3-0.
NOTES: The Cyclones reached the Sweet 16 for the fifth time in school history. ... In Little Rock's win over Purdue on Thursday, G Josh Hagins became the first player in NCAA Tournament history to have 30 points, five assists, five rebounds and five steals in a game. ... Iowa State is 9-0 all time against Sun Belt Conference teams. ... The Trojans are the first team in Sun Belt history to win 30 games in a season.
