Iowa State is showing up in the first round of bracket talk with real momentum behind it.
In Joe Lunardi’s final preseason update for ESPN’s NCAA Men’s Bracketology, the Cyclones are slotted as the No. 3 seed in the East Region. That placement would send them to Omaha for both the Round of 64 and the Round of 32, a setup that would give Iowa State a clear home-court boost by keeping fans close to the action.
The path Lunardi mapped out starts with Harvard in the opener. The Crimson are projected as the Ivy League’s automatic qualifier, and if Iowa State gets through that one, the next hurdle could be Nebraska.
That would create a Round of 32 meeting with a familiar face on the other bench in former Iowa State great Fred Hoiberg. Nebraska is paired in the bracket with Grand Canyon, a program that the source describes as spending money on its roster like a Power Conference team, and the Lopes are projected as the automatic qualifier out of the new-look Mountain West Conference.
The teams sitting above Iowa State in the East are Duke at No. 1 and UConn at No. 2.
For the Cyclones, the biggest swing factor is still Tamin Lipsey. His possible fifth season matters a lot here, because as part of a lawsuit in Indiana, he is among several athletes currently eligible under the new 5-in-5 rules. If he stays eligible, Iowa State’s ceiling gets a whole lot higher.
That matters even more with rising star guard Killyan Toure out until mid-January while he recovers from shoulder surgery. But even without Toure, Iowa State has enough in the backcourt to hold things together early. Transfers Jaquan Johnson and Ryan Prather Jr., along with freshman Yusef Gray Jr., give the Cyclones more depth behind Lipsey and enough bodies to absorb the loss for the first few months.
In Other News...
Iowa State Defense Has One Urgent Problem Before Oklahoma State
Iowa States season has been shaped by a defense that has too often been late to the right answer. Recognition problems have shown up early in games, and opponents have been able to capitalize before the Cyclones settle in. The result has been a strain on a team that has already had to lean heavily on the run game, only to find that approach becomes much less useful once the scoreboard turns against them.
Now comes Oklahoma State in a game that feels important for more than just the standings. Iowa State needs cleaner execution on defense and a better start overall if it wants to avoid another afternoon spent digging out of an early hole. With the offense still searching for more reliable passing consistency, the margin for error is thin, and this matchup has the look of a test the Cyclones cant afford to fail. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa States Secondary Is Becoming A Problem The Cyclones Cant Ignore
Iowa States defense has given Matt Campbell enough good moments this season to keep the bigger picture from slipping away, but the cracks in the secondary have become harder to gloss over. The Cyclones have had stretches where the pass coverage held up and the pressure up front showed through, yet recent games against West Virginia, BYU and Arizona have brought the same issues back into focus, with opponents finding open receivers and points piling up.
The concern is not just one bad outing, but a pattern that keeps resurfacing when the competition gets more demanding. Injuries have thinned the cornerback group and kept it from building the kind of cohesion a defense needs in the back end, and the result has been a unit that has too often looked a step out of sync when Iowa State needed it most. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa State Faces A Brutal Test As Injuries Keep Mounting
Drew Surges was back on the field for Iowa State wearing a protective club on his right arm, a reminder of how thin the Cyclones have become as the season grinds on. The safety had broken that arm earlier in the year, but his return gives a battered roster another body as the team tries to keep itself together through a demanding stretch and an upcoming matchup with No. 24 Oklahoma State.
Jimmy Rogers has leaned into the idea of resilience, and with good reason. Iowa State is working through a wave of injuries that has left it depleted at a time when the schedule offers little relief, so the focus has shifted to preparation and making sure the players available are ready for whatever comes next. Surges return helps, but it also underscores how much the Cyclones are asking of the guys still standing. [Read more 🡒]