Everywhere you look these days, you’ll find a "way too early top 25" for the 2015-16 basketball season.
For Iowa State, this is exciting. The Cyclones are returning Georges Niang, Monte Morris, Jameel McKay and Naz Long – to name a few. As expected, that nucleus was enough to garner some serious national attention following Duke’s championship victory over Wisconsin on Monday night.
According to these experts, it is unanimous that the Cyclones will enter next season as a top 10 team.
For instance…
*** NBC’s Rob Dauster has the Cyclones tabbed at second for next season. Dauster also notes that at this point, he believes Chieck Diallo will end up in Ames. "Even if they miss on Diallo, the Cyclones are looking at being a top five team," Dauster wrote.
*** CBS columnist Gary Parrish has Iowa State ranked sixth in his way too early poll. "Fred Hoiberg has turned Iowa State into a consistent winner, and there’s no reason to think that’ll change next season given that the Cyclones’ top three scorers are returning," Parrish wrote. "And that means they’ll have a shot at the Big 12 title, assuming their homecourt advantage remains one of the nation’s best."
*** ESPN.com’sEamonn Brennan has the Cyclones ranked fourth for next season. "That Niang will return alongside an established group of veterans — from a hot-shooting, turnover-allergic backcourt (Naz Long, Monte Morris) to a high-flying, rim-running 5 (Jameel McKay) — makes this team a national title contender," Brennan wrote.
