Following an impressive start to the 2024-25 season, the Iowa State Cyclones have cemented themselves as one of the best college basketball teams in the country.
ESPN backed that fact with a recent article from Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf, which ranked the top 76 teams and their odds of winning the National Championship this season.
“Iowa State finally has an elite offense to go with what is annually one of the best defenses in the country,” the duo wrote. “Keshon Gilbert has emerged as an All-American candidate in the backcourt, but it’s the frontcourt additions of Joshua Jefferson and Dishon Jackson who have taken T.J. Otzelberger’s team to the next level. The Cyclones might be the Big 12 favorites.”
Iowa State currently sits as the nation’s third-best team in the AP Basketball Poll, trailing just Tennessee and Auburn; however, the Cyclones are expected to jump at least one spot in the poll after the Volunteers were blown out, 73-43, to No. 8 Florida on Tuesday night.
Iowa State sits atop the Big 12 standings this season with the best overall record of any team in the league (13-1), alongside Houston and Arizona, each of which are 3-0 in league play. T.J. Otzelberger’s group holds wins over Utah, Baylor, and Colorado.
They take the court next on Saturday, January 11th, on the road in Lubbock, Texas, vs. Grant McCasland and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
