Iowa State's Jefferson (ankle) gametime decision for Friday - ESPN

CHICAGO — The status of Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson's left ankle looms large over the No. 2 Cyclones' Round of 16 match-up with No. 6 Tennessee on Friday night.

Jefferson remains a gametime decision with a low-ankle sprain suffered during Iowa State's first-round win over Tennessee State on March 20. He missed the Cyclones' 19-point blowout of Kentucky in the Round of 32.

Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger stressed that Jefferson would ultimately decide whether he's able to play. The Cyclones will do a shootaround Friday afternoon that will be a key indicator for a potential return.

«It's really Joshua's decision,» Otzelberger said. «We're going to support him and love him and have his back in whatever he decides to do.»

Said Jefferson: «If I just have a little bit of pain, I think I can roll with that. But just trying to work up to that right now.»

A 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, Jefferson earned second-team All-American honors and is Iowa State's best player. He enters the game averaging a team-high 7.4 rebounds and is second on the team with 16.4 points.

Sporting a pair of pink Nikes — Kobe 9 Elite Protros from 2014 — Jefferson did some light shooting before Iowa State's workout at the United Center on Thursday but said he did not plan to take part in the workout. The sneakers tied high enough that the tape on his injured left ankle barely peeked above his socks.

Jefferson said it was like «mental warfare» preparing to play while dealing with the uncertainty of potentially not playing.

«Throughout my career, definitely had to play hurt a lot, but I think there's a difference between hurts and injured,» he said. «So just trying to get to that hurt point right now.»

Jefferson noted that the return timeline for a