NCAA Tournament March Madness
#5 Iowa St
Bubble Watch | Bracketology
Chat with the Bracketologist | How does this work?
Projected seed: 2
Iowa State’s placement is driven by the balance between big, resume-defining moments and only a few misplaced results: a statement road victory at Purdue and dominant neutral-site wins over St John's, Creighton and Syracuse along with a solid home win over Iowa show the Cyclones can beat quality opposition away from Hilton and on neutral courts, while a lopsided setback at Kansas and a road defeat at Cincinnati leave blemishes that keep them from vaulting into the very top tier. The schedule still gives them clear chances to strengthen their case with trips to Arizona and to BYU and marquee dates at home against Houston and Kansas and on the road at Kansas State, so the current placement reflects premium wins, limited damaging losses, and the opportunity to add more road and neutral victories down the stretch.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/3 | F Dickinson | 344 | W88-50 |
| 11/6 | Grambling | 278 | W102-62 |
| 11/10 | (N)Mississippi St | 85 | W96-80 |
| 11/17 | Stonehill | 342 | W96-57 |
| 11/24 | (N)St John's | 22 | W83-82 |
| 11/25 | (N)Creighton | 53 | W78-60 |
| 11/26 | (N)Syracuse | 71 | W95-64 |
| 12/3 | Alcorn St | 341 | W132-68 |
| 12/6 | @Purdue | 6 | W81-58 |
| 12/11 | Iowa | 20 | W66-62 |
| 12/14 | E Illinois | 314 | W78-53 |
| 12/21 | Long Beach St | 229 | W91-60 |
| 12/29 | Houston Chr | 300 | W89-61 |
| 1/2 | West Virginia | 57 | W80-59 |
| 1/7 | @Baylor | 48 | W70-60 |
| 1/10 | Oklahoma St | 67 | W83-71 |
| 1/13 | @Kansas | 17 | L84-63 |
| 1/17 | @Cincinnati | 54 | L79-70 |
| 1/20 | UCF | 46 | W87-57 |
| 1/24 | @Oklahoma St | 67 | 81% |
| 1/29 | Colorado | 78 | 94% |
| 2/1 | @Kansas St | 84 | 85% |
| 2/7 | Baylor | 48 | 89% |
| 2/10 | @TCU | 52 | 76% |
| 2/14 | Kansas | 17 | 74% |
| 2/16 | Houston | 4 | 61% |
| 2/21 | @BYU | 14 | 50% |
| 2/24 | @Utah | 114 | 91% |
| 2/28 | Texas Tech | 19 | 74% |
| 3/2 | @Arizona | 2 | 30% |
| 3/7 | Arizona St | 92 | 95% |