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NCAA Basketball: Duke, Purdue, Wisconsin rise in latest top 25 power rankings

Jan 18, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) shoots the ball over Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) during the second half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
Jan 18, 2025; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Koby Brea (4) shoots the ball over Alabama Crimson Tide forward Mouhamed Dioubate (10) during the second half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
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3. Iowa State (15-2)

The Cyclones have found a perfect balance this season and its led them to some fantastic performances. An early loss to Auburn in Maui nearly went the other way, while a combination of efficient offense and defense has put Iowa State in this position. T. J. Otzelberger has done a marvelous job turning this program around and leads one of the nation’s most experienced and balanced rotations.

Things kept going well for the Cyclones to begin this week, pounding out a 74-57 home win over Kansas. Curtis Jones stood out with 25 points, Joshua Jefferson had a double-double, and Iowa State had an emphatic performance on their homecourt. This weekend’s follow-up effort wasn’t meant to be, as the Cyclones fell 64-57 at West Virginia in their first conference loss. Jones had 18 points and 8 rebounds, but the team made just 6% of their 3-pointers in a tough performance in Morgantown.

The sky is not falling by any means for a Cyclones team that had won 12 straight games before that disappointment on Saturday. Iowa State still sits at 5-1 and is certainly still favorites to win this tough league’s crown. Poor outings like this happen, but it’s hard to bet against this team with how they’ve normally been playing. The team that smacked Kansas shows up and the Cyclones win the league; we’ll see if that happens next week against UCF and Arizona State.