Iowa State picked fourth in the Big 12 by league’s coaches

The Iowa State men’s basketball team has been picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 by the league’s coaches, the conference announced on Thursday.

The Cyclones are coming off a 23-12 season that saw them advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Quite a few familiar faces are back, including guards Monte Morris, Naz Mitrou-Long, Matt Thomas and Deonte Burton, but the losses of Georges Niang, Abdel Nader and Jameel McKay to graduation likely weighed heavily on coaches’ minds when filling out their polls.

Kansas received nine first place votes and was the unanimous selection to win the league. Jayhawks head coach Bill Self gave his first-place vote to Iowa State since coaches can’t vote for their own team.

The teams in second through fourth were separated by just nine points.

You can see the full poll below. Iowa State tips off their season on Nov. 11 against Savannah State at Hilton Coliseum.

1 – Kansas (9 first-place votes), 81 points

2 – West Virginia, 65 points

3 – Texas, 59 points

4 – Iowa State (1 first-place vote), 56 points

5 – Baylor, 53 points

6 – Oklahoma, 40 points

7 – Oklahoma State, 32 points

8 – Texas Tech, 32 points

9 – Kansas State, 20 points

10 – TCU, 12 points

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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