Iowa State Cyclones Receive Major Respect in First NET Rankings of Season

The Iowa State Cyclones are one of the best teams in men's college basketball thus far this season.

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The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team came into the 2025-26 season with a chip on their shoulders.

They were comfortably inside the Top 25 rankings, but no one was talking about them as legitimate contenders, whether it was in Big 12 conference projections, where some evaluators had them as the fifth- or sixth-best team, or for the national title.

To prove their worth, the Cyclones would have to handle business on the court, and that is exactly what they have done to this point.

Where is Iowa State in NET Rankings?

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Off to a 7-0 start, Iowa State is considered one of the best teams in the nation in the first NET Rankings of the campaign. They are ranked No. 7 overall, with the Arizona Wildcats, who are at No. 6, being the only Big 12 team ahead of them.

The conference is well represented with five teams currently in the top 18. The Utah Utes, who come in at No. 175, received the lowest ranking of the 16 teams in the conference.

That will set up a ton of opportunities during Big 12 play for teams to strengthen their resumes for the NCAA Tournament. There is certainly a chance that not a single Big 12 conference game this year is below a Quad 3 matchup, with almost all of them being Quad 1 and 2 games.

House Calls for Everyone!#Cyclones | #C5C | @killyan_toure | @dpleta_ pic.twitter.com/VdDDcym4cO

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) November 27, 2025

The numbers will fluctuate throughout the season, but it is something worth keeping an eye on. Right now, Iowa State’s opponent NET Ranking isn’t very high, with only two Quad 1 and 2 games played thus far, coming away victorious in both.

The Cyclones have aced every test they have faced thus far. They kicked off the Players Era Festival with a thrilling 83-82 victory over the St. John’s Red Storm before running the Creighton Bluejays and Syracuse Orange out of the gym.

What made the last two victories in Las Vegas all the more impressive was that they did it without their star point guard, Tamin Lipsey. He suffered a groin injury in the final minutes against St. John’s and the team is going to give him as much time as possible to recover and be 100 percent healthy.

Iowa State will be tested in near future with tough schedule

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It would not be a surprise if Lipsey sat out their next game against the Alcorn State Braves at Hilton Coliseum. Their SWAC foes are 1-8 on the season thus far.

However, Iowa State would love to get him back in the lineup after that for back-to-back Quad 1 games. On Dec. 6, they will travel to Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana, to take on the Purdue Boilermakers, who are 7-0 thus far and No. 3 in the NET.

After that, the next chapter of the Cy-Hawk rivalry will be written. The Iowa Hawkeyes, who are No. 17 in the NET, will travel to Ames on Dec. 11 for their annual in-state rivalry matchup.