Big 12 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2022-23 season

Iowa State went from one of the worst power conference college basketball teams to a second weekend NCAA Tournament team in the span of one year. What does T.J. Otzelberger have on tap for an encore?

Last season will be hard to replicate for the Cyclones. Everything went right for the team from Ames. In 2020-21, Iowa State won two games. Last season, it took exactly three games to exceed that win total.

Ultimately, the Cyclones went all the way to the Sweet Sixteen, where they lost to another team making a surprising run of their own in the Miami Hurricanes. It was the team’s first Sweet Sixteen trip since 2016.

The two best players from that team are gone, though. Izaiah Brockington forewent his final year of eligibility, while star guard Tyrese Hunter transferred to Texas.

But it feels like people are underestimating what Iowa State is bringing back, namely Gabe Kalscheur. The Minnesota transfer was quieter than his star teammates, largely because he was bricking more than three-quarters of his threes. If he improves upon that, Iowa State will be in good shape.

Iowa State also has a solid crop of transfers coming in from the Atlantic 10. Hason Ward comes over from VCU, while St. Bonaventure teammates Jaren Holmes and Osun Osunniyi come to Ames as a package deal. They’ll form a motivated, veteran core for the program.

The ceiling for the Cyclones feels lower than where they ended up last year. Then again, what they did last year was entirely unexpected, so best Iowa State makes its case on the court.