Iowa State Cyclones Remain a Contender in Latest Bracketology Projection

Where did the Iowa State Cyclones place in a recent bracketology projection?

Feb 1, 2026; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Iowa State Cyclones forward Joshua Jefferson (5) brings the ball up court during the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum. | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones are coming off another successful week, in which they were able to win two games. Now, the team is on a four-game winning streak and starting to rise in the rankings. 

Following another good week of basketball, the Cyclones have been able to move up to become the seventh-ranked team in the country. With some excellent programs this year, the small movements back up toward the Top 5 is what Iowa State is going to have to do. 

This past week, the team once again saw some excellent performances from their stars, and they also had the bench unit playing extremely well. With the whole team overall playing at a high level, it has been easy to see why they have been blowing out their opponents of late. 

Unfortunately, while Iowa State has been playing really well, so have other teams. Come March, the Cyclones would surely like to become a one-seed in the NCAA tournament, but that is going to be a challenge. 

Joe Lunardi of ESPN recently released his latest bracketology projections. For the Cyclones, they remained on the two-line in the Midwest Region. 

Iowa State Continues to be a Contender

Iowa State Cyclones forward Dominykas Pleta | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even though they might not have moved up back to a one seed, the Cyclones staying as a two seed is a good spot to be. There is no shortage of really good teams in the country this year, and they are currently slated to be in the same region as the Michigan Wolverines. 

The Wolverines have been excellent this year and are certainly deserving of being the number one seed in the region. If these regions held true come March, that would undoubtedly be an excellent matchup to watch between two powerhouses. 

What appears to be something that the Cyclones should try to do is to avoid the Arizona Wildcats for as long as possible. While these two teams will square off at the end of the regular season and perhaps in the Big 12 tournament, they have been easily the best teams in the nation. 

This will be an easy week for Iowa State with just one game on Sunday against the Baylor Bears at home, so they likely won’t be able to move up much barring some losses ahead of them. However, the Cyclones should be pleased with where they are in the early part of February.