Iowa State Cyclones Ranked as a Top Team in NCAA Tournament

The Iowa State Cyclones now know where they will be heading for the start of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

An at-large team from the Big 12 conference, they will be in the Midwest Region as the No. 2 seed. Their first game will be against the Tennessee State Tigers, the automatic qualifiers from the Ohio Valley Conference. Tip-off is scheduled for 2:50 pm ET on March 20.

With a 27-7 record heading into the tournament, the strong seed was certainly earned by the Cyclones. But, how do they stack up with the rest of the competition? Over at CBS Sports, Matt Norlander power-ranked the teams 1-68.

Iowa State is viewed in quite a positive light. They come in at No. 6, behind only the Arizona Wildcats, Michigan Wolverines, Duke Blue Devils, Houston Cougars and Florida Gators.

Iowa State receives strong ranking amongst NCAA tournament teams

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger looking on from sidelines. — Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger watches the game from the bench during the second half in the Big-12 conference men’s basketball against Texas Tech on Feb. 28, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cyclones have had some slip-ups away from Hilton Coliseum this season, but when they are playing up to their potential, they have shown they are a championship-caliber squad. They made history with a 23-point win over the Purdue Boilermakers in Mackey Arena earlier this season.

Victories over the St. John’s Red Storm, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Houston Cougars and Kansas Jayhawks are also on what is a very strong resume.

Helping land the Cyclones so high on the list is their Big 3 of Joshua Jefferson, Milan Momcilovic and Tamin Lipsey. Their combination of talent and experience helps set Iowa State apart.

Those three are the driving force for T.J. Otzelberger, setting the tone on both ends of the floor. Jefferson, who was selected to the All-Big 12 First Team, stuffs the stat sheet as a do-it-all forward.

Never. Gets. Old.#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/wDJKYNJ5sa
— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) March 16, 2026

He isn’t the most athletic guy on the court and doesn’t have a ton of flash to his game, but he gets the job done every time he takes the court. Jefferson is entering the NCAA tournament with a lot of momentum after he averaged 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.3 steals and one block in 32.3 minutes per game at the Big 12 tournament.

Momcilovic is the deadliest 3-point shooter in the country. Once he gets hot, slowing him down is a near impossibility. Just ask Arizona, which watched him knock down eight 3-point attempts in the semifinals.

The team's leading scorer with 17.1 points per game, he connected on 49.6% of his 3-point attempts. He was named to the All-Big 12 Second team, along with Lipsey.

At this point in the year, it is imperative to have a leader on the court who can settle things down if they get out of sync. The senior point guard does exactly that for the Cyclones, serving as the best point of attack defender in the country, while also providing timely bucket-making on offense.