Iowa State men’s basketball: Cyclones picked 5th in Big 12 coaches poll

Iowa State gets a surprising ranking in the Big 12 preseason coaches polll that was released on Thursday.

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It was widely expected that the Cyclones would be getting third, or at worst fourth. Well, they got fifth, getting edged out by Kansas State by two points. They both sit behind Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, who all got first-place votes.

Here’s the full list (first place votes in parenthesis):

1. Kansas Jayhawks – 78 points (6)
2. Texas Longhorns – 74 points (3)
3. Oklahoma Sooners – 67 points (1)
4. Kansas State Wildcats – 53 points
5. Iowa State Cyclones – 51 points
6. Baylor Bears – 36 points (tied w/ WVU)
7. West Virginia Mountaineers – 36 points (tied w/ BAY)
8. Oklahoma State Cowboys – 27 points
9. TCU Horned Frogs – 15 points
10. Texas Tech – 13 points

The Big 12 is essentially split into two tiers — the top half and the bottom half. The botttom half looks about right. TCU should see some improvement with the talent they have on the team, and we’ll see how far Oklahoma State has fallen now without Marcus Smart. Baylor and West Virginia will be on the fringe of making the NCAA tournament in March.

All five of the top teams should make the NCAA tournament. It’s just surprising to see that big of difference between Oklahoma and Iowa State — a whopping 16-point difference. Not to mention being under Kansas State.

Perhaps the notion of Iowa State “just having Georges Niang” is really giving the national thought process that the Cyclones will have a down season. Not a losing season, but that they can’t possibly be at the level they have been in recent years. On the flipside, local media and fans are expecting an even better season than last year — as they should. And that’s after winning the Big 12 tournament!

It’s puzzling. If Bryce Dejean-Jones is being questioned, head coach Fred Hoiberg has brought in a lot of great talent that had issues in their previous stint such as Royce White and Korie Lucious. Perhaps they don’t even acknowledge new guys like Jameel McKay or Abdel Nader, and no one is talking about Dustin Hogue. Why is no one talking about him?

Either way, In Hoiberg We Trust.