6. Iowa State (27-7)
In the closest moments of the regular season we weren’t exactly seeing Iowa State at its best. The Cyclones were remarkable at times throughout an impressive campaign even with recent wins over Houston and Kansas. However, the Cyclones lost three of five down the stretch, even falling at home for the first time and looking far more vulnerable on offense leading up to the Big 12 Tournament.
They put those worries to bed quickly with a 91-42 rout over Arizona State in their first game, getting 21 points from Milan Momcilovic and 20 points from Joshua Jefferson. The quarterfinal was another strong showing at Iowa State won 75-53 over Texas Tech. Tamin Lipsey put up 20 points while Jefferson was electric with 18 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists. The semifinal turned into a heartbreaker with the Cyclones falling at the buzzer in an 82-80 loss to Arizona. Momcilovic had 28 points, including eight 3-pointers, while Jefferson scored 21 points to cap off his impressive week.
Even though they didn’t even make the finals of the Big 12 Tournament, Iowa State had one of the more impressive showings that we saw this week from any team. While those two wins were over teams not in their best shape, the Cyclones showed all week that this offense is the real deal and that they can be a nightmare on both sides of the ball in the Big Dance. Don’t be shocked if many have them as a sleeper Final Four pick, especially if Momcilovic continues his hot play.