Latest NCAA Tournament projections for Iowa State men

Things should be trending back up for the Iowa State men when it comes to the latest NCAA Tournament Bracketology projections.

The return of 3-point shooting specialist Milan Momcilovic allowed the Cyclones to get back on track this past weekend with a win. They followed that up by besting UCF on the road Tuesday night and return to Ames for a meeting with Cincinnati this weekend.

Here are some of the top projections for the Cyclones:

ESPN pegs Iowa State as Midwest No. 3

Those at ESPN have the Cyclones remaining close to home, slotting them in as the Midwest No. 3 seed at the moment. That would mean first and second round games just north in Milwaukee.

Up first for Iowa State would be a matchup with Northern Colorado with either Illinois or Vanderbilt to follow. The Cyclones would have to possibly get past Purdue, who is the No. 2 seed, as Alabama holds the top spot with Kansas and Marquette also on that side.

CBS sends Iowa State to South, still three-seed, same opponent

In a bit of an ironic twist, CBS Sports has Iowa State as the No. 3 seed in the South, but matched up with the exact same opponent in Northern Colorado. They would be playing in Denver, with UCLA awaiting in the next round.

Purdue is also the No. 2, with Baylor checking in as the 10-seed. Auburn, Memphis, Kentucky and West Virginia all load up the top half of the bracket in what would be a stacked region.

FOX Sports also has Cyclones on No. 3 line

Iowa State goes out West in the FOX Sports projections, and again land on the No. 3 line with Northern Colorado again the first round opponent. UCLA or potential in-state rival Drake would line up next, with Tennessee as the top-seed.

Texas A&M is the No. 2, Wisconsin the No. 4 and two-time defending national champion Connecticut the eight in the region.