Cyclones drop in polls for second week in a row

The Iowa State men’s basketball team has dropped in both major college basketball polls for the second consecutive week. 

The Cyclones fell two spots to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll released Monday afternoon. Iowa State also fell five spots to No. 14 in the USA Today Coaches poll. 

The release of the polls also made Monday’s matchup between Oklahoma and Kansas officially a battle of the nation’s top two teams. The Jayhawks took the top spot in the AP, while the Sooners were No. 1 in the Coaches. 

Maryland, Virginia and Michigan State round out the AP top five. 

West Virginia (No. 17) is the only other Big 12 team in the AP poll. The Mountaineers are also No. 17 in the Coaches and Baylor stayed in the poll at No. 25. 

The Iowa Hawkeyes moved into the rankings (No. 19 in AP, No. 23 in Coaches) for the first time this season after their wins over Michigan State and Purdue. Future Iowa State opponent Texas A&M also jumped up a few spots to No. 21 in the AP and No. 17 in the Coaches. 

Cincinnati, Texas and Colorado all received votes in the Coaches Poll. 

Iowa State begins the week No. 12 in the RPI rankings, while the Xavier Musketeers still hold the top spot. 

The Big 12 has five other teams (No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 9 Kansas, No. 23 West Virginia, No. 28 Texas) in the RPI top 30 entering the week, while four teams (No. 16 Iowa, No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 26 Colorado, No. 38 Chattanooga) on Iowa State’s schedule are in the top 40. 

The Iowa State men will be back in action Wednesday when Texas Tech visits Hilton Coliseum for an 8 p.m. tip on ESPNU.