Iowa State Cyclones Rightfully Move Back Up in AP Top 25 Poll

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to rise back up in the AP Poll following a good week.

Iowa State Cyclones forward Killyan Toure (27) gets congratulation from men's basketball head coach T.J. Otzelberger during the second half against UCF in the Big-12 conference game on Jan. 20, 2026, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. | Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones were able to have a much better week than in their previous one and they are heading in the right direction once again. Following a two-game losing streak, the team got back on track. 

Coming into the week, there was some concern for the state of the program for the Cyclones. This was a team that lost two straight games against the Kansas Jayhawks and the Cincinnati Bearcats on the road. 

Iowa State was plagued by some sloppy basketball and slow starts in each of those games, and they were unable to mount large comebacks against good opponents. Despite being ranked as the number two team in the country prior to the two losses, the Cyclones saw themselves drop significantly in the AP Poll from second to ninth. 

With back-to-back losses and teams around the nation playing so well, it was completely understandable to see Iowa State drop seven spots. The two road losses were certainly a concern, but the Cyclones were able to bounce back nicely this past week. 

At home against the UCF Knights, they blew out their opponent at home. On Saturday, the team was then able to snap the road losing streak with a rather comfortable win on the road against the Oklahoma State Cowboys. 

Cyclones Rightfully Start to Move Back Up

Up A Spot#Cyclones | #C5C pic.twitter.com/Swlbloj399

— Iowa State Men’s Basketball (@CycloneMBB) January 26, 2026

It was an amazing weekend of college basketball around the country with some big matchups and some top teams suffering defeats. In a couple of the marquee games, the Purdue Boilermakers suffered a loss at home to the Illinois Fighting Illini. Furthermore, in the Big 12, the Texas Tech Red Raiders were able to beat the Houston Cougars in another great game. 

With both the Boilermakers and the Cougars suffering losses on Saturday, and it being the second loss of the week for Purdue, it cleared the way for Iowa State to move back up in the AP Poll. While the Michigan State Spartans did hop Iowa State, the Cyclones moving up to eighth is good progress.

Looking ahead, Iowa State will have two games this coming week against the Colorado Buffaloes and the Kansas State Wildcats. Both of these games are favorable ones for the Cyclones to win, and they will be significant favorites in each of them. 

Following the 16-0 start, Iowa State will undoubtedly be trying to rise back up in the AP Poll, but they will have to keep an eye on the number one-ranked Arizona Wildcats, who are still undefeated.