Big 12 Preseason Ranking Highlights Challenges To Come for Iowa State Cyclones

Will the Iowa State Cyclones be able to navigate what might be a challenging conference this season?

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger talks during the university men’s basketball media day at Hilton Coliseum on October. 8, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The college basketball season is starting to get going with teams starting to play in some exhibition matchups before the year kicks off. For the Iowa State Cyclones, they are coming into the year with some high expectations following a strong 2024-25 campaign. 

Last season, the Cyclones had a strong year both overall and in the Big 12. Especially of late, this has been one of the best basketball conferences in the nation and that is shaping up to be the case this coming year as well. 

In the previous campaign, Iowa State finished with a 25-10 overall record and went 13-7 in the conference. That strong record resulted in them finishing in fifth. It was a bit of a runaway by the Houston Cougars last season, with the program going a ridiculous 19-1 in conference play. 

As shown by them nearly winning a National Championship, Houston was one of the top teams in the entire country. In this campaign, the Cyclones hope to have another strong year and make a run in March Madness. Even though they played very well last season, they likely would have wanted to make it a bit further in March. 

Recently, the Big 12 preseason rankings came out and had Iowa State finishing fifth in the conference once again. This feels like a fair ranking for the Cyclones with the teams that are ahead of them all being very talented. 

The preseason Big 12 MBB poll. Iowa State is picked to finish fifth while Tamin Lipsey is a preseason All-Big 13 selection. pic.twitter.com/CwtVfmqNwP

— Alec Busse (@alec_busse) October 16, 2025

It should come as no surprise to see Houston as the top team by a wide margin in the conference. With some talented players returning from a great year and some new talent coming in, the Cougars are going to be one of the best teams in the country once again. 

The one team that has seen a significant rise in expectations is the BYU Cougars. Due to the program landing one of the top recruits in the country, they are now predicted to be a force in the conference as well. AJ Dybantsa is exceptionally talented and could make an impact and a noticeable difference right away for BYU, and early expectations are that he will. 

Furthermore, also ahead of Iowa State in the preseason ranking are the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Arizona Wildcats. It is worth noting that the Kansas Jayhawks, who have long controlled the conference, were ranked sixth. With a strong preseason ranking in what is going to be a challenging conference, the Cyclones should be excited about what’s to come this year.