NCAA Basketball: Top 25 offseason winners entering 2024-25 season

No. 11 - Iowa State Cyclones: Best defensive team in the country?

The Iowa State Cyclones were among the best defensive teams in NCAA basketball last season, leading the nation in KenPom adjusted defensive efficiency. By holding its opponents to a mere 61.5 PPG, the Cyclones were a nightmare matchup all season long.

Entering the 2024-25 season, can the Cyclones continue to be the best defensive team in the country? The short answer? Yes. The long answer? It's either Iowa State or Houston. Take your pick.

What helps the Cyclones, a consensus preseason top-ten team in the country, maintain its defensive identity is that the backcourt of Keshon Gilbert and Tamin Lipsey stays intact -- last year’s top-two leading scorers.  

Where Iowa State excelled last season on defense was its ability to force turnovers by creating steals. Gilbert and Lipsey averaged over two steals per game, helping the Cyclones force nearly 17 turnovers a game, the third-highest in college basketball last season, according to Team Rankings, thanks to their relentless ball pressure.

Add in lockdown defender Josh Jefferson (Saint Mary’s), aggressive big-man Dishon Jackson (Charlotte), versatile G Nate Heise (Northern Iowa) alongside key returnees Curtis Jones and Milan Momcilovic, and it’s hard to envision a better defensive team in the country, other than possibly Houston.

This team fits the defensive identity TJ Otzelberger has established in Ames, making the Cyclones a noteworthy offseason winner.