Iowa State Basketball Under Valued in Preseason Top 25

The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team has proven time and time again that when they are the underdogs and underestimated, it is when they play their best.

Entering the 2026-27 season, it certainly looks as if they are being undervalued by some people again. The injury to Killyan Toure is a massive blow to overcome, but the Cyclones were on the right side of one of the eligibility lawsuits filed in Indiana that included Tamin Lipsey.

The star point guard is currently eligible to play for Iowa State, and as long as he is in the mix, their ceiling is incredibly high. A steady two-way performer, he will raise the level of performance of all his teammates around him.

That is partly why their placement in the preseason top 25 ranking done by CJ Moore of The Athletic (subscription required) can be viewed as underwhelming. Ranked No. 18 in the AP Preseason Poll, Moore has them ranked even lower.

Where is Iowa State in preseason top 25 rankings?

Iowa State guard Killyan Toure (27) enters the court during the university men’s basketball media day at Hilton Coliseum. — Iowa State guard Killyan Toure (27) enters the court during the university men’s basketball media day at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. (Credit by Nirmalendu Majumdar, Ames Tribune/USA Today Network) | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The Cyclones are ranked No. 22 in the top 25, which makes them the No. 5 team in their conference. Also representing the Big 12 in the rankings are the Arizona Wildcats at No. 4, Houston Cougars at No. 9, Kansas Jayhawks at No. 11 and Texas Tech Red Raiders at No. 14.

The Baylor Bears just snuck into the rankings after some strong preseason exhibition performances, coming in at No. 25 to give the conference six teams in Moore’s rankings. That is tied with the Big Ten for the most by a single conference.

It is easy to see why the Cyclones would be a little lower in some polls entering the 2026-27 campaign. They lost a lot of star power and production from last season’s lineup, with Joshua Jefferson now in the NBA after being selected in the first round of the 2026 Draft and Milan Momcilovic transferring to the Kentucky Wildcats, who are outside of the top 25 in these rankings.

Checking In. #Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/PYImI3Rz2n
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) October 19, 2026

Having Lipsey back for one more season certainly helps soften the blow, but head coach T.J. Otzelberger did a great job of restocking the talent on the roster in the transfer portal. This is as deep a roster as he has had during his tenure in Ames.

Jaquan Johnson, Tre Singleton, Ryan Prather Jr., Leon Bond III and Taj Manning are all going to play a role after transferring into the program. Yusef Gray Jr. and Dorian Rinaldo-Komlan are members of the Class of 2026 who could help during their freshman years.

Otzelberger also has multiple rotation players returning. Along with Lipsey and Toure, he has another starter in Blake Buchanan and key members of the second unit, with Dominykas Pleta and Jamarion Batemon, who looks like he will be part of the starting five as a sophomore.

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