Iowa State Cyclones Receive Shocking Change in Men's Basketball Power Rankings

The Iowa State Cyclones change in the men's college basketball power rankings will raise some eyebrows.

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The start of the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season has gone as well as the Iowa State Cyclones could have hoped for.

They started things off with a convincing victory over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights on Nov. 3, winning 88-50. In their second game against the Grambling State Tigers a few nights later, they won 102-62.

Both of those were buy games held at Hilton Coliseum with the expectation that the Cyclones would roll easily. Their first challenge of the season came against the Mississippi State Bulldogs early this week.

They played against the SEC foe in a neutral-site game at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. What was expected to be a close game quickly turned into a blowout in favor of Iowa State.

Iowa State shockingly drops in men's basketball power rankings

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With a 3-0 record, the Cyclones held court in the AP Poll, coming in at No. 16 again. But they suffered a shockingly unwarranted drop in the men’s basketball power rankings shared by Jeff Borzello of ESPN.

Despite the dominant victory over Mississippi State, Iowa State dropped three spots from No. 15 to No. 18. The North Carolina Tar Heels, Gonzaga Bulldogs, Illinois Fighting Illini and Alabama Crimson Tide all moved ahead of the Cyclones.

If Iowa State didn’t have a chip on its shoulder coming into the campaign with how its team was being viewed, it likely has one now.

Blowing out the Bulldogs in the fashion that they did should have warranted some consideration for moving up. At the very least, holding steady in the spot they held, not dropping in the power rankings.

Iowa State has plenty of chances to move up rankings

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Their stifling defensive pressure has been felt by all of their opponents thus far. The Cyclones are forcing turnovers at a high rate, converting those mistakes into points by getting into the open court for easy buckets.

Iowa State will face off against the Stonehill Skyhawks at Hilton Coliseum on Nov. 17. After that, they are going to be tested greatly while taking part in the Players Era Festival, where they will be facing the St. John’s Red Storm and Creighton Bluejays at a minimum.

The 18-team field is a loaded one. A third game could be played against another Top 25 team such as the Tennessee Volunteers, Kansas Jayhawks, Houston Cougars, Auburn Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide, Gonzaga Bulldogs or Michigan Wolverines.

Those games will provide the Cyclones with ample opportunities to cement their status as one of the best teams in the country in the early going of the men’s basketball season. As will other non-conference matchups with the Purdue Boilermakers and Iowa Hawkeyes.