NCAA Basketball: Kansas and Baylor rise, Tennessee falls in latest top 25 power ranking
By Joey Loose
21. Iowa State (16-8)
The Cyclones weren’t supposed to be great last year: they were. This was supposed to be a rebuilding year, and one in which they weren’t competing near the top of the Big 12: we were wrong. T. J. Otzelberger’s squad is right there in a tough and talented conference race, even if the Cyclones haven’t played their best ball in recent weeks.
Iowa State suffered an unfortunate road loss on Wednesday, falling 76-71 at West Virginia in what became a foul fest. Jaren Holmes had 18 points and Caleb Grill had 13 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as they fell again on the road. The Cyclones then dropped an even more frustrating game, losing 64-56 at home to Oklahoma State. Aljaz Kunc’s 13 points off the bench led the way in a poor offensive performance for the Cyclones.
Why are the Cyclones still ranked if they’ve now lost six of their last nine games? They haven’t performed terribly, and do have wins over Kansas, Kansas State, and Texas in that span; though they cannot keep losing these kinds of games. Iowa State has the potential for great things, much like last year’s Sweet Sixteen squad, but will have to prove that in the weeks ahead. Next week that means a home date with a scuffling TCU squad and a road date at Kansas State.