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Big 12 Basketball power rankings, Kansas, Kansas State on top ahead of clash

By Tristan Freeman

LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 10: K.J. Adams Jr. #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a basket by a teammate Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse on January 10, 2023 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KANSAS - JANUARY 10: K.J. Adams Jr. #24 of the Kansas Jayhawks celebrates a basket by a teammate Oklahoma Sooners at Allen Fieldhouse on January 10, 2023 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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Big 12 Basketball Jaren Holmes #13 of the Iowa State Cyclones (Photo by David K Purdy/Getty Images) /

5. Iowa State Cyclones – 13-3 (4-1)

The Cyclones have been nothing short of impressive since the start of Big 12 Basketball play. And while No. 5 might seem unfair, it’s mainly due to how strong the top of the conference is. This team has a highly impressive road win at TCU and also has an 84-50 victory over Texas Tech.

Gabe Kalscheur was the star of that game, going for 25 points on 5/6 shooting from three-point range. Jaren Holmes had 15 points while Caleb Grill chipped in with four made three-pointers and 14 points overall.

Iowa State then went on the road and went toe-to-toe with the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse last weekend. It was a close game for all 40 minutes but in the end, the Cyclones suffered its first Big 12 defeat of the season, 62-60. Kalscheur had another big performance with a game-high 23 points with four more three-pointers made. Osun Osunniyi was the only other double-digit scorer in the game with 14 points in 19 minutes before fouling out.

The next two games are against teams Iowa State matches up well with in Texas and Oklahoma State. Expect some low-scoring battles this week for them but they’ve proven they can win any kind of way so far. And for Kalscheur, he’s making a case for first-team All-Big 12 this year.

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