AMES — The writers were more impressed with Iowa State’s 86-81 victory over Kansas on Saturday night than the coaches were.
In the new AP Top 25 that was released on Monday, Iowa State jumped four spots from 13th to ninth. Meanwhile in the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Cyclones moved from 13th to 12th.
*** It’s always interesting to look at the positive and negative extremes when it comes to who is voting Iowa State where. In this week’s AP poll, eight voters had the Cyclones at No. 7. Three pollsters had Iowa State at No. 15. One of those men was ESPN’s Dick Vitale. CLICK HERE to see who voted Iowa State where.
*** In another noteworthy item, according to the Des Moines Register’s Rick Brown, for the first time in history, Iowa State (9), Northern Iowa (20) and Iowa (25) are all ranked at the same time. The Hawkeyes, who Iowa State defeated 90-75 on Dec. 12 in Iowa City, won at Minnesota and at home vs. Ohio State last week.
*** Six Big 12 teams are ranked in this week’s AP poll. Oklahoma State is currently receiving the most votes out of any non-ranked teams in America.
KENPOM: America’s favorite mathematician has updated Iowa State’s projected record in league play to 12-6 following the win over Kansas. The KenPom.com rankings have the Cyclones at No. 17. Pomeroy’s formula gives Iowa State an 87 percent chance at victory on Tuesday vs. Kansas State, projecting a final score of 75-63 in favor of the good guys.
RPI: Going off of ESPN’s RPI, Iowa State is currently No. 16. That’s a substantial jump compared to last week, which is what happens when you knock off No. 1, which was the case with Kansas entering the weekend. The Cyclones are currently ranked 20th in ESPN’s BPI.
PARRISH: CBS columnist Gary Parrish moved Iowa State all the way up to No. 7 in his Top 25 (plus one) poll.
