Iowa State Cyclones
Not too long ago, Iowa State was in the thick of the Big 12 regular season title and hoping to grab a protected top-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. But after losing six of their final eight games of conference play, they were much closer to that dreaded 8-9 matchup in the first round of the Big Dance. Good news is that the Big 12 Tournament was coming at the right time for them.
As a five seed, the Cyclones had a tough path for the title. But in the end, they were up to the task. First came a 17-point victory over Baylor, then a hard-fought win over top-seeding Kansas State. And against a motivated Jayhawks team, four players scored in double figures (led by Lindell Wigginton with 17 off the bench) for the Cyclones to win another Big 12 Tournament title with a 78-66 victory.
These last few days gave Iowa State three Quad-1 wins and has given them positive momentum up the seed lines. They were projected as a six seed before the Kansas win and could very well be a five when their name is called Sunday evening. Considering that the Cyclones could’ve been an eight had they lost to the Bears, this was an extremely productive week for a Final Four sleeper.