March 15th, 2001 in Boise, Idaho.

That is where our story truly starts.

Two-seed Iowa State was set to take on the 15 seed Hampton Pirates.

The Cyclones had capped off their second consecutive Big 12 regular season title a few weeks earlier.

There were few coaches in college basketball hotter than the Cyclones' headman, Larry Ustays.

This was supposed to be Iowa State's first step in another deep run through the NCAA tournament.

They had been one of the best teams in the country the previous season before falling in the elite eight in, well, controversial fashion.

Instead, the cyclones came out flat and well you remember what happened inside the big fella

Williams Williams.

Iowa State pushing time running down, Tinsley, off the iron. It's over.

It's over.

Oh my God. It's over. Despite the loss, few men in college basketball were more well regarded

nationally than Eustace you. Heck he he'd been the national coach of the year

less than a year earlier. He was Iowa State's sacred cow, the golden goose. Larry Eustacey was

untouchable. That is, until a January night in Columbia, Missouri, less than two years later.

From Cyclone Fanatic Media, this is CF Chronicles, Larry's Last Days.

Iow State lost to the Missouri Tigers 6459 at Missouri

Arena on January 22nd, 2003.

It was the final loss in a string of four consecutive

the team had suffered over the prior two weeks.

After the game, you Stacy said, quote, this is the real world our guys have to get tougher

Randy Peterson has covered Iowa State athletics off and on for more than four decades

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