Iowa State Cyclones Are Championship Caliber Team in Loaded Big 12 Conference

The Iowa State Cyclones have proven to be a championship caliber team so far this season.

Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger watches from bench against Iowa during the first half in the men’s basketball Cy-Hawk series on Dec. 11, 2025, in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

As the Iowa State Cyclones get set to wrap up the calendar year on a positive note, the team has to be proud about what they have accomplished so far this year. 

Through 11 games, the Cyclones are an impressive 11-0 with a few signature wins on their resume. While Iowa State was expected to be a good team, this is likely a start that few would have predicted. 

In the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, the Cyclones started to prove how good they were with wins against the St. John’s Red Storm, Creighton Bluejays, and Syracuse Orange. Even though they didn’t qualify for the title game, they had a very impressive showing in Las Vegas. 

Following that showing, Iowa State pulled off a blowout win on the road against the Purdue Boilermakers. At the time, Purdue was the No.1 team in the country, and this was arguably the best win that any team has had in college basketball this season. 

With a perfect record and ranked fourth in the country, Iowa State is getting some recognition as a title contender and a championship-caliber team. 

Joe Lunardi of ESPN recently spoke about championship-caliber teams in each conference and highlighted the Cyclones as one coming from the Big 12. 

Big 12 is Loaded

Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

While Iowa State is having a great year and is being considered a title contender, they aren’t alone in the Big 12. Even though it is early in the season and conference play has yet to really get going, the Big 12 currently has two projected number one seeds in early bracketology simulations. 

Just as Iowa State has had a great start to the campaign, it is the Arizona Wildcats who are arguably the best team in the country. The Wildcats have some impressive signature wins early on this season and appear to be the real deal this year. 

Furthermore, just behind those two teams are the BYU Cougars. Led by the talented freshman AJ Dybantsa, the Cougars are projected to be a two seed currently and are very much in the title conversation. 

At the start of the new year, conference play will indeed dictate who from the Big 12 will be a championship contender. Everyone will have their calendars marked for March 2nd when the Cyclones play the Wildcats, but there will be big games for both teams prior to then as well. Overall, with the season about one-third of the way done, Iowa State should feel great about their standing.