Iowa State vs. Baylor officially a battle of AP top-10 teams

Saturday’s game in Hilton Coliseum will officially be a battle of top-10 teams.

Iowa State jumped up one spot No. 8 in this week’s Associated Press Top-25 released on Monday while Baylor retained its place at No. 1. The Cyclones and Bears are slated to tip at 1 p.m. in Ames on Saturday.

This will be Iowa State’s 22nd date with the No. 1 team in the country. The Cyclones have a 2-19 record in those previous 21 games with wins over Kansas in 1957 and Oklahoma in 2016.

Iowa State’s last game against the nation’s No. 1 team was also against Baylor. The Cyclones lost that game to Baylor 67-53 back in 2020.

This will also be the program’s first top-10 match-up since No. 9 Iowa State beat No. 7 Baylor 87-72 in Hilton Coliseum on Jan. 7, 2014.

The Bears, Duke, Purdue, Gonzaga and UCLA make up the top five in this week’s poll while Kansas, USC, Iowa State, Arizona and Michigan State round out the top-10.

Texas (No. 17) and Texas Tech (No. 25) are the only other Big 12 teams in the poll while Oklahoma and West Virginia each received votes. Previous Iowa State opponents Iowa, Creighton and Memphis also received votes.

T.J. Otzelberger’s team enters Saturday’s contest with a 12-0 record, which is the second-best start to a season in program history.

Jared Stansbury

View articles by Jared Stansbury subscriber

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.

Follow @@JaredStansbury