Iowa State’s place in the AP Top 25 stayed intact, and the Cyclones are now riding a ranking streak that keeps climbing.
The last time Iowa State was absent from the poll was the Week of Jan. 8, 2024.
On Jan. 15, the Cyclones checked in at No. 24, and they have appeared in every weekly ranking since. That run now sits at 53 consecutive weeks after Iowa State came in at No. 18 in the first poll of the 2026-27 season.
That moves the Cyclones into the third-longest active streak in men’s basketball, since Purdue did not land in the AP Top 25 Preseason Poll. Purdue finished 126 points behind No.
25 BYU, which earned 53 points. Missouri followed with 167 points, while Nebraska had 70.
Only Houston and Duke now sit ahead of Iowa State among active ranked streaks. Houston’s stretch stands at 126 weeks, Duke’s at 64, and Purdue’s absence opened the door for the Cyclones to move up another spot on that list. Iowa State’s streak had been the fourth-longest active run at 52 weeks before the preseason poll dropped.
The Big 12 showed up strongly in the preseason rankings, too, and the AP poll mirrors the way the league is projected to play out. Iowa State landed between No.
17 Kansas and No. 19 Texas Tech.
Arizona is the highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 5, while Houston comes in at No. 10.
BYU rounds out the top 25, and TCU was the only other Big 12 program to receive votes, finishing with 17 points.
With six teams in the preseason Top 25, the Big 12 trails only the SEC, which placed seven teams in the poll. The Big Ten put five teams in, the ACC had four, and the Big East had two.
For Iowa State, the streak reflects just how far the program has come under T.J. Otzelberger.
He inherited a team that went 2-22 in Steve Prohm’s final season, then immediately pulled the Cyclones back into the national picture. Iowa State has reached the NCAA tournament in every season since Otzelberger arrived, and the program is aiming for a sixth straight appearance while pushing for a run past the Sweet 16.
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