8. Iowa State (25-6)
After a hot start to the season, Iowa State has dealt with some really tough Big 12 teams on their schedule. It’s not a surprise in this great league seeing them lose some of these road battles, but last weekend’s loss to Texas Tech at home was the first time this team fell in Ames. The Cyclones aren’t exactly trending in the best direction with their recent play but there’s still time to turn that around.
Unfortunately, Monday night wasn’t a step in that direction, as the Cyclones fell 73-57 at Arizona. Falling to those Wildcats wasn’t a big shocker, but Iowa State really struggled offensively, shooting 29% from the field, with Tamin Lipsey’s 17 points leading the way. Saturday was looking like another disaster as the Cyclones trailed at the half, but a strong second period led to an 86-65 win over Arizona State. Lipsey, Joshua Jefferson, and Milan Momcilovic all had 16 points apiece.
Losing three of their final five games, Iowa State probably took themselves out of the running for a top-seed in the NCAA Tournament, but T. J. Otzelberger isn’t specifically focused on that. He wants more consistency out of a team that has issues both on offense and defense during this recent stretch. We’ll see what version of the Cyclones shows up when the lights are bright during the Big 12 Tournament.