Big 12 Basketball: 2019-20 power rankings heading into conference play

Iowa State has the talent to be much higher than this, but the non-conference performance has been extremely disappointing. Sitting at 7-5 heading into conference play, and coming off of an embarrassing loss Florida A&M, the Cyclones still could end up being a dangerous team. They have played a fairly difficult schedule, with some respectable losses coming to Michigan, Iowa, and Seton Hall.

The loss to Florida A&M, even without Tyrese Haliburton, will be a huge stain on their resume all season, however. The Cyclones haven’t been able to capitalize by getting a true signature win, either. They split a series with Seton Hall, but their victory came in a game where the Pirates were shorthanded with Sandro Mamukelashvili leaving the game early with a broken wrist. The win at Alabama was a quality win, but the Tide doesn’t look like an NCAA tournament team.

Still, even with five losses, there still some reason for optimism in Ames. The offense has been humming, thanks in large part to the exceptional play of Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton is putting up some gaudy numbers this season, averaging 17.3 points, 7.7 assists, and 5.7 rebounds per game all while shooting 54% from the field and 42% from deep. He is extremely skilled and remarkably efficient. His incredible play has put him firmly in the conversation for Big 12 Player of the Year, and if the Cyclones are to climb up the standings in the Big 12, he will be the main reason.

Outside of Haliburton, Rasir Bolton has been the focal point of the offense, but he has really struggled to shoot the ball, especially from outside. He is only connecting on 21.3% of his long-range shots, down from a respectable 36% last season when he was at Penn State. George Conditt has been terrific off of the bench with an absurd 3.1 blocks per game in only 18 minutes. He has also been a good finisher around the rim and a tough rebounder. If he can maintain this level of play, he should be given more opportunities as conference play begins.

Overall, this team is too talented to have performed as poorly as it has. I think Iowa State will start climbing up these rankings as conference play begins. They need to take advantage of their first opportunity to do so, on the road at TCU this week.