Iowa State Wrongly Behind Big 12 Rival in Seed-Line Rankings

The Iowa State Cyclones have been one of the best men’s basketball teams in the country throughout the 2025-26 season, evidenced by their seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.

Iowa State is the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region, matching up with the Tennessee State Tigers, the No. 15 seed in the region and automatic qualifier from the Ohio Valley Conference in the Round of 64.

There was considerable debate about where the Cyclones would land heading into Conference Tournament Week. They were viewed by some Bracketology predictions as a No. 3 seed, but the historic beatdown they put on the Arizona State Sun Devils, a blowout victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders and buzzer-beating defeat at the hands of the Arizona Wildcats were enough to move them up.

Along with Iowa State, the Houston Cougars, Purdue Boilermakers, and UConn Huskies were selected as No. 2 seeds. How do all of those teams stack up against each other?

Iowa State behind Houston in 2-seed rankings

Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson talks with guard Milos Uzan. — Feb 28, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson talks with Houston Cougars guard Milos Uzan (7) while playing against the Colorado Buffaloes in the second half at Fertitta Center. | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

In the opinion of Chip Patterson of CBS Sports, it is Houston that is the best No. 2 seed in the tournament.

“The Cougars are competing at a top-five level, as they have almost every year since 2021, but this year's squad may have an even higher offensive ceiling thanks to the dynamic backcourt trio of Kingston Flemings, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan,” he wrote.

Houston was certainly deserving of the No. 2 seed they received. They had a wonderful regular season and lost in the Big 12 championship game to Arizona.

This isn’t the kind of Cougars team that people have become accustomed to seeing under the guidance of head coach Kelvin Sampson. But those three are certainly talented players on the perimeter, raising the offensive ceiling of the team, which in the past has been their Achilles heel.

Cyclones deserve to be top ranked No. 2 seed

Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson reacting after a play. — Mar 13, 2026; Kansas City, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) after a play during the first half against the Arizona Wildcats at T-Mobile Center. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

However, having them as the best No. 2 seed is certainly a stretch. There are a lot of metrics and thoughts put into the rankings, which Patterson did for every seed line, but a strong argument can be made that it is the Cyclones who are the cream of the crop on that seed line.

They have a victory over Houston this season, a thriller at Hilton Coliseum in Ames a few weeks ago, 70-67. While head-to-head matchups aren’t the end-all, be-all, it is as good a thing to use in these kinds of rankings as any.

Along with the victory over the Cougars, Iowa State also defeated Purdue on its own home court in historic fashion earlier in the campaign.

Teams are certainly looking different now than in December, but that win cannot be taken away from T.J. Otzelberger and his squad as one of the most impressive of the entire men’s college season.

With their own Big 3 of Joshua Jefferson, Tamin Lipsey and Milan Momcilovic, the Cyclones have a trio that can match up with any in the country. This is a talented team that is being a little bit overlooked when compared to their peers.