Iowa State Cyclones forward Robert Jones (12) reacts after a block around West Virginia Mountaineers forward Josiah Harris (22) during the second half in the Big-12 conference showdown of a NCAA college basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Feb. 24, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK
As the NCAA Tournament inches closer, Iowa State stayed put in this week’s
bracketology report.
The Cyclones went 1-1 last week with a 73-65 loss at No. 1 Houston and followed up with 71-64 home win over West Virginia. They improved to a perfect 16-0 at Hilton Coliseum this season.
Along with the Iowa State, the Big 12 still has nine projected in the NCAA
Tournament field with two teams hovering around the bubble.
Houston, Kansas, Baylor, Texas Tech, BYU, TCU, Oklahoma, and Texas are all
unanimous teams in the field of 68, with Cincinnati and newly added Kansas State to the Next Four Out category.
Last week, bracketologists had Iowa State as a 3-seed playing in Pittsburgh as part of the East Region. With Alabama, Baylor, and Duke all losing on Saturday, the Cyclones have jumped to the best overall 3-seed and are just on the outside of entering the 2-seed line.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Iowa State playing No. 14 Oakland with No. 6 St. Mary’s and No. 11 South Florida playing on the top side in Omaha – along with No. 2 Kansas being tabbed for the same location. The bracket has not yet been updated following KU’s loss to BYU Tuesday.
CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has the Cyclones facing off against No. 14 Vermont with No. 6 Dayton and No. 11 Utah/Gonzaga on the top side of the bracket. That projection lands the Cyclones in Brooklyn for the first two rounds.
The Cyclones have four games remaining and sit in a great spot to land it’s highest seed ranking since the 2014-2015 received a 3-seed on Selection Sunday.
The question remains if Iowa State can secure take advantage of the Kansas loss, and continue to make the push towards a No. 2 seed and a potential first round matchup in Omaha.
