Iowa State Cyclones

Where Did Iowa State Cyclones Land in Jon Rothstein's Latest Bracket Breakdown?

Where are the Iowa State Cyclones ranked in the latest Bracket Breakdown shared by insider Jon Rothstein?
Kenneth Teape|
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The Iowa State Cyclones once again look like they will be one of the best teams in men’s college basketball this season. The Preseason AP Poll Top 25 has them comfortably inside the rankings, coming in at No. 16.

They are going to face plenty of challenges throughout the season, both in the non-conference and Big 12 schedules. Big East contenders, the St. John’s Red Storm and Creighton Bluejays and the No. 1-ranked team in the country, the Purdue Boilermakers, will be faced out of conference.

As will the Mississippi State Bulldogs out of the SEC and their in-state rivals, the Iowa Hawkeyes, out of the Big Ten.

That will be good preparation for the gauntlet they will have to navigate within the Big 12. There are multiple championship contenders in the conference, such as the Houston Cougars, BYU Cougars, Texas Tech Red Raiders and Arizona Wildcats.

Surprising teams will emerge throughout the campaign as well, with the Big 12 being arguably the best conference in men’s college basketball his season.

Iowa State among 9 Big 12 teams predicted to make NCAA Tournament

T.J. Otzelberge
Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That is evident by the fact that college basketball insider Jon Rothstein has nine teams from the conference in his current Bracket Breakdown. Houston is the automatic qualifier, joined by BYU, Texas Tech, Arizona, Iowa State, the Kansas Jayhawks, Cincinnati Bearcats, Kansas State Wildcats and Baylor Bears.

The only conferences with more teams projected in the field heading into the regular season are the Big Ten with 10 and the SEC with 12.

Rothstein views the Cyclones highly, currently having them as part of his top 16 seeds. They are on the four-line with Arizona, the Louisville Cardinals and the Auburn Tigers.

At least one Big 12 team is featured on each of the top seed lines in the early projections. Houston is a one-seed, BYU is a two-seed and Texas Tech is a three-seed.

Iowa State is certainly going to have its work cut out for it throughout the campaign. But, T.J. Otzelberger has quite a talented group on his hands and has a clear-cut advantage over some of their conference peers with the amount of minutes and points returning on the roster.

If point guard Tamin Lipsey can remain healthy, a tall task given his recent track record, they are going to have the ability to hang with any team in the country. He, along with Joshua Jefferson, is one of the best two-way duos in the nation.

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Kenneth Teape
KENNETH TEAPE

Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.

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