Iowa State’s meteoric rise up the national scene continued on Monday.
The Cyclones jumped up six spots to No. 11 in the newest AP Top-25, giving the program its highest ranking since Jan. 2016. The jump followed a week that saw Iowa State dispatch arch-rival Iowa, 73-53, on Thursday then beat Jackson State, 47-37, on Sunday, both at Hilton Coliseum.
Iowa State is now 10-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season when the team started a program-record 14-0 behind stars Melvin Ejim, DeAndre Kane and Georges Niang. The Cyclones have started the season 10-0 only one other time, in 1996-97, and each of the first two teams ended their seasons in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16.
Iowa State is one of five Big 12 teams in the poll along with Baylor (No. 1), Kansas (No. 7), Texas (No. 17) and Texas Tech (No. 25). Oklahoma and West Virginia each received votes for the poll.
The Cyclones have the majority of this week off with finals week looming but will be back in action on Sunday when Southeastern Louisiana visits Hilton Coliseum for a noon tip-off.