Iowa State Basketball Rightfully Keeps Ranking Streak Alive

The Iowa State Cyclones have consistently been one of the best men’s basketball teams in the country over the last few years.

That is evident based on how many weeks in a row they have been ranked. The last time Iowa State wasn’t in the top 25 was the Week of Jan. 8, 2024. On Jan. 15, they were No. 24 and have had a ranking next to their name every week since.

That is a stretch of 52 consecutive weeks, which is the fourth longest active streak in the country. Only the Houston Cougars with 126, Purdue Boilermakers with 79 and Duke Blue Devils with 64 have longer active streaks.

However, the Cyclones are about to hold the third-longest streak in men’s basketball. That is because the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll has been released, and Purdue didn’t make the cut. They finished 126 points short of the No. 25-ranked BYU Cougars with 53, behind the Missouri Tigers with 167 points and the Nebraska Cornhuskers with 70.

Where is Iowa State ranked in AP Top 25 Preseason Poll?

Iowa State’s streak is now at 53 consecutive, as they come in at No. 18 in the first poll of the 2026-27 season. The AP Poll looks similar to how the Big 12 is projected to finish, with the Cyclones between the Kansas Jayhawks, who are No. 17, and Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are No. 19.

In the top 10 are the Arizona Wildcats, who are the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 5, and the Houston Cougars, who are No. 10. As mentioned previously, BYU is No. 25. The only other Big 12 program to receive any top 25 votes was the TCU Horned Frogs, with 17 points.

With six teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, the Big 12 has the second most teams, behind the SEC with seven representatives. The Big Ten has five, while the ACC has four and the Big East has two.

There are no Mid Majors in the Top 25, unless people are still counting the Gonzaga Bulldogs as such, even though they are a part of the revamped Pac-12 Conference.

It is quite an achievement for the Cyclones to have this streak of being ranked. When head coach T.J. Otzelberger took over the program, he inherited a team that went 2-22 in the final year under Steve Prohm.

Otzelberger immediately turned things around, with Iowa State earning a bid into the NCAA tournament in Year 1 and every year since. The Cyclones will be looking to make it six appearances in a row, with their eye on advancing beyond the Sweet 16.