Cyclones up to No. 13 ahead of showdown with No. 14 WVU

Tuesday night’s matchup at Hilton Coliseum will officially be a battle of the No. 13 and No. 14 teams in the AP Top 25 after the new polls were released Monday afternoon.

The Iowa State Cyclones are up one spot to No. 13 while the West Virginia dropped out of the top 10 to No. 14. The Cyclones also jumped up two spots in the USA Today Coaches Poll to No. 14.

Oklahoma retained the No. 1 spot in the AP while North Carolina took the top spot in the Coaches. The Tar Heels are No. 2 in the AP followed by Villanova, Maryland and Iowa to round out the top 5. 

Kansas is the only other Big 12 team in the top 10 at No. 7 while Texas A&M, Iowa State’s last opponent, dropped to No. 8 this week. 

Baylor is right behind Iowa State and West Virginia at No. 15. Texas received one vote in the poll.

Oklahoma still holds the No. 1 spot in the RPI rankings to start the week while Iowa State sits at No. 11. Kansas (No. 5) and Iowa (No. 6) are the other two Iowa State opponents in the top 10.

Texas A&M (No. 12), West Virginia (No. 15), Baylor (No. 17), Colorado (No. 20), Texas (No. 22), Texas Tech (No. 43), Chattanooga (No. 45) and Kansas State (No. 50) give Iowa State 11 teams on their schedule in the top 50. 

Seven of those 11 teams are out of the Big 12.

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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