The Iowa State Cyclones have turned into one of the most consistently productive programs in men’s college basketball under head coach T.J. Otzelberger.
He inherited a team that went 2-22, but immediately turned things around. In his first season, the Cyclones qualified for the NCAA tournament, a streak that has reached five consecutive years.
There is a strong chance Iowa State will make it six straight, especially with star point guard Tamin Lipsey being back in the mix. He was part of an Indiana lawsuit to gain a fifth year of eligibility based on the 5-in-5 rules being put into place and will return to Ames for one more season.
It was a fortunate turn of events because his replacement, Killyan Toure, suffered a shoulder injury that will keep him sidelined into mid-January at the very least. When he is healthy enough to return, he will step right back into the starting backcourt role, just like last season.
Where did Iowa State land in Big 12 preseason standing prediction?
However, there isn’t as much star power around that backcourt duo. Milan Momcilovic transferred to the Kentucky Wildcats after withdrawing from the 2026 NBA Draft, and Joshua Jefferson was selected in the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves and subsequently traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
That lack of star power is one of the reasons why Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has predicted the Cyclones will finish in fifth place in the Big 12 this season. That is essentially the same spot as last season when Iowa State finished in a tie for third place but ended up as the No. 5 seed because of tiebreakers.
That meant missing out on the double bye in the Big 12 tournament, which should be the goal of every team. Iowa State at least missed the first day of action, but ran into the eventual champion, Arizona Wildcats, in the semifinals when Jayden Bradley hit a game winner at the buzzer.
In the projections from Parrish, Arizona is one of the teams that the Cyclones will be chasing down in the standings. The defending regular season and tournament champion has been predicted to finish in first place again.
In second place is the Houston Cougars, followed by the Kansas Jayhawks and Texas Tech Red Raiders. That is the same order the teams finished in last season after tiebreakers were applied.
The BYU Cougars are projected to finish sixth, with a bounce-back from the Baylor Bears being predicted with a seventh-place finish.
Once again, the Big 12 looks like it will have an argument as the best conference in the nation.
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