Iowa State Cyclones Shockingly Misplaced in NCAA Power Rankings

Where did the Iowa State Cyclones place in a recent power rankings?

Jan 29, 2026; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger watches his team play the Colorado Buffaloes during the second half at James H. Hilton Coliseum. | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

The Iowa State Cyclones have been playing quite well with a five-game winning streak, but that hasn’t helped them move up surprisingly in a recent prominent NCAA power ranking. 

Following their two-game skid a few weeks ago, the Cyclones are now once again playing well and solidifying themselves as a Final Four contender. Last week was a light one for Iowa State with just one game on the schedule against the Baylor Bears. 

Even though it wasn’t their best performance and they only ended up winning the game by a few points, Iowa State was in control most of the second half. However, a bit of a slow start and a weird letdown at the end of the game did overshadow some of the things that they did well. 

With a couple of the other teams in the top 10 losing, the Cyclones are starting to creep their way back up in many rankings. However, that hasn’t been the case in all of them. 

CJ Moore of The Athletic (subscription required) recently wrote about his latest NCAA power rankings. Just like last week, the Cyclones somewhat surprisingly remained ranked eighth. 

Iowa State Should Be Higher

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

Even though they only played one game this week, the Cyclones were able to win that matchup and have won five straight games. With a 21-2 record overall, they just recently moved up to fifth in the AP Poll, and being ranked eighth seems far too low. 

Ahead of Iowa State in the rankings that they should arguably above be the UConn Huskies, Illinois Fighting Illini, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers. With the Huskies losing to the St. John’s Red Storm this week, they now have two losses as well on the campaign. 

Furthermore, with the Illini suffering their fourth loss of the season, their being ranked in the Top 5 is still a bit puzzling. While the Cyclones haven’t played the best teams in the Big 12 during the five-game winning streak, their 21 wins so far are impressive. In the coming weeks, they will be seeing some of the best teams in the conference and will have an opportunity to move up. 

Overall, it feels like Iowa State should be a bit higher in these rankings, but there are undoubtedly a lot of good teams in the country this year. Despite the low ranking, this is still a team with a massive upside.