10. Baylor Bears
12. Auburn Tigers
16. Texas A&M Aggies
19. Indiana Hoosiers
22. Texas Longhorns
25. Miami Hurricanes
28. BYU Cougars
29. Maryland Terps
31. UCLA Bruins
32. Oregon Ducks
34. Florida Gators
35. Ole Miss
36. USC Trojans
39. Mississippi State Bulldogs
41. Memphis Tigers
42. McNeese Cowboys
45. VCU Rams
46. Dayton Flyers
47. St Mary’s Gaels
49. UCF Knights
52. Clemson Tigers
53. New Mexico Lobos
58. SMU Mustangs
60. Nevada Wolfpack
61. TCU Horned Frogs
63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
65. Syracuse Orange
68. Iowa Hawkeyes
70. Butler Bulldogs
71. Princeton Tigers
74. Oklahoma Sooners
75. West Virginia Mountaineers
76. Georgia Bulldogs
77. UAB Blazers
80. Missouri Tigers
Here’s where our TCH analysts have the Cyclones ranked:
| Steven | Maxwell | Kam | Cody |
| 5 | 4 | 11 | 6 |
Everything I said regarding Arizona in yesterday’s article about playing in the Big 12 applies to Iowa State as well. The difference is that Iowa State is coming off a season where they finished second in the Big 12 and went 13-5 in the conference, while Arizona has yet to play a Big 12 conference game since joining the conference from the Pac-12. Not only is TJ Otzelberger’s coming off a 29 win season, but they’re also bringing back their top four players in minutes and points from last season. In total, that equates to 59.3% of their minutes from last season. It’s also worth noting nobody wants to play this team in Hilton Coliseum, where they went 18-0 last season.
A year after the Cyclones went 2-22, the Cyclones fired Steve Prohm and hired Otzelberger. From there, the Cyclones are 70-35 in three seasons with four wins in the NCAA tournament. In Otzelberger’s three seasons, the Cyclones had the #5, #8, and #1 defense according to KenPom’s adjusted efficiency metric. In the day and age of the transfer portal, bringing back the top four from the best defensive team in the country is a good start. This starts with Tamin Lipsey, a 6’1″ junior guard who was nominated to the All-Big 12 Preseason First Team and has a strong chance at being an All-American. The Cyclones are #5 in the AP preseason poll and #6 in KenPom, and Lipsey is undoubtably the straw that stirs the drink for one of the nation’s best teams. Additionally, there’s Keshon Gilbert, who just dropped 35 points in a secret scrimmage win against Creighton. Gilbert was also the leading scorer on last year’s Cyclones team.
The third returning starter is Milan Momcilovic, a 6’8″ wing who’s a legitimate NBA draft prospect. As a freshman, Momcilovic, a former 4 star recruit, averaged 11 points per game and he should be expected to make the freshman year to sophomore year jump. The other returner is Curtis Jones, who is expected to be this team’s sixth man. Despite this, Coach Otzelberger recently informed Jon Rothstein that Curtis Jones has made the biggest jump among all returnees. Additionally, there’s Joshua Jefferson from St. Mary’s College as well as Dishon Jackson from Charlotte who round out the starting five. Jackson, standing at a towering 6’11” and weighing 280 lbs, is an inside presence that will give this team great interior play on both ends of the floor. Jefferson started every game for St. Mary’s until he suffered a knee injury late in the season. There’s also Nate Heise, a Northern Iowa transfer and Third Team All-MVC pick last season. He’s averaged 13.5 points per game last season. Finally, the backup big is Brandton Chatfield, who started all 37 games for Seattle last year.
While this team has the depth to deal with the rigors of the Big 12, they also have an identity. They’re ranked second in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency and 17th in adjusted offensive efficiency. While the Big 12 has five teams ranked in the top 10 in the preseason AP Poll, it’s conceivable to believe that Iowa State might end up being the best of team in the best conference in the country.
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