Iowa State is capable of beating the No. 1 team in the country.
North Carolina 2022.
Houston 2024.
Now, Purdue University. And this time it’s 23 o’clock. in West Lafayette, Indiana.
“More than anything, I think they stole our spirit,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said after the game.
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The Cyclones now have the best wins of the season by any team at any level.
Elite defense is the foundation. A dynamic offense is taking Iowa State to the next level. This has been an issue for the Cyclones in the past.
no longer.
This is the deepest offensive team coach TJ Otzelberger has ever assembled.
But will it be enough to top this week’s Big 12 power rankings? The Cyclones had the best win in the country. Arizona arguably has the better resume.
There’s even a national runner-up in the conference mix.
Wow boy.
Let’s take a look at the rankings.
More: Iowa State basketball team is national title contender Hines
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1. Arizona
last week: 1
This week: Alabama (Saturday); vs. Abilene Christian (Tuesday); Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Series at Phoenix vs. San Diego State (Dec. 20); vs. Bethune-Cookman (Dec. 22)
What to know: The Wildcats have four wins against teams ranked in the top 25. The most recent was Auburn’s 29-point victory. That’s enough to top national polls and these rankings.
2. Iowa
last week: 3
This week: vs. Iowa State (Thursday); vs. Eastern Illinois (Sunday); vs. Long Beach State (Dec. 21)
What to know: Tamin Lipsey returned from injury and led the team in a win over Purdue. He even had a celebratory phone call with former Hurricane Tyrese Haliburton on the sidelines. If Lipsey keeps up this confidence and play, things will get much tougher for Iowa State.
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3.Houston
last week: 2
This week: vs. New Orleans (Saturday); vs. Arkansas in the Never Forget Tribute Classic in Newark, N.J. (Dec. 20)
What to know: Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson recently notched his 807th Division I victory, passing legendary coach and friend Eddie Sutton for the 15th all-time.
4. Brigham Young University
last week: 4
This week: vs. UC Riverside (Saturday); vs. Pacific (Tuesday); vs. Abilene Christian (Dec. 19); vs. Eastern Washington (Dec. 22)
What to know: Freshman phenom AJ Dybantsa lived up to expectations and even had a monster dunk in a win over Clemson. But Robert Wright III stole the show, knocking down the game-winning 3-pointer.
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5.Kansas
last week: 5
This week: NC State (Saturday); vs. Towson (Tuesday); vs. Davidson (Dec. 22)
What to know: Speaking of rookies, Darin Peterson’s return from a hamstring injury immediately makes Kansas look like a contender again. Of course, the Jayhawks are capable without him. But they don’t want to do it anymore.
More: Darryn Peterson returns to Kansas basketball team, Kansas beats Missouri
6. Texas Tech University
last week: 6
This week: Dallas vs. Arkansas (Saturday); vs. Northern Colorado (Tuesday); vs. Duke in the SentinelOne Classic in New York City (Dec. 20)
What to know: The Red Raiders have struggled against ranked teams, but they have a chance to turn things around in two of their next three games against Arkansas and Duke.
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7. Oklahoma
last week: 8
This week: Oklahoma City at Oklahoma City (Saturday); at Kansas City (Dec. 18); at Cal State Fullerton (Dec. 21)
What to know: One of the most underrated transfers of the offseason was Pasha Farah. He was dominant at Oklahoma State, shooting 68.5 percent overall (eighth nationally) while becoming the centerpiece of the Cowboys’ turnaround.
More: Oklahoma State basketball team adds depth to 8-0 start, plays well in clutch situations
8. Baylor
last week: 7
This week: vs. Alcorn State (Dec. 19); vs. Southern (Dec. 21)
What to know: Cameron Carr is making a case for the league’s best shooting guard. He ranks third in the Big 12 in scoring (21.4) and hasn’t scored fewer than 13 points in a game, which was right in line with the Bears’ recent loss to Memphis.
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9. University of Central Florida
last week: 13
This week: vs. Mercer (Wednesday); vs. FGCU (Dec. 20); Florida Atlantic (Dec. 23)
What to know: The Cavaliers are off to their best start under Johnny Dawkins, winning seven straight for the first time since 2019. That season, they made it to the NCAA tournament. This is a good sign for this season.
10. Traffic control unit
last week: 9
This week: vs. Incarnate Word (Monday); vs. Oral Roberts (Dec. 18); vs. Florida A&M (Dec. 21)
What to know: Just when it looked like the Horned Frogs were going to save their season, they blew a nine-point lead against Notre Dame. Such losses will hurt what appears to be a bubble team in March.
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11. Colorado
last week: 12
This week: vs. UTSA (Saturday); vs. Portland State (Wednesday); Phoenix vs. Stanford in Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Series
What to know: The Buffaloes lost a game against in-state rival Colorado State University. But don’t lose sight of this fact: Colorado is off to an 8-0 start, its best start since the 1949-50 season. Seventy-six years!
More: Arizona men’s basketball team beats NAU for eighth win
12. Arizona State University
last week: 15
This week: vs. Santa Clara in Jack Jones Basketball Classic in Henderson, Nev. (Saturday); UCLA (Wednesday); vs. Oregon State (Dec. 21)
What to know: The Sun Devils defense continues to improve. But they could really make some noise if 7-foot freshman Massamba Diop continues to develop at a good rate.
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13. West Virginia
last week: 14
This week: vs. Ohio State (Saturday); vs. Mississippi Valley State (Dec. 22) in Cleveland Basketball Showdown in Cleveland, Ohio
What to know: If the Mountaineers want to pull off some needed wins, they’ll need Treysen Eaglestaff, a transfer from North Dakota State, to have more nights like he had against Little Rock (23 points, 5-for-10 from 3-point range).
last week: 11
This week: Atlanta Holiday Hoopsgiving vs. Georgia (Saturday); vs. Alabama (Wednesday); Clemson (Dec. 21)
What to know: The Bearcats have lost 12 straight road games to crosstown rival Xavier. More importantly, in the past three weeks, the team’s wins and losses have rotated and lacked consistency.
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15. Kansas State University
last week: 10
This week: Creighton (Saturday); vs. South Dakota State (Dec. 20)
What to know: Wildcats head coach Jerome Tang was frustrated with the poor play and even the officiating. But the four-game losing streak has ended. But the thing is, there’s no worse opponent than Mississippi Valley State, which is ranked last on KenPom.com.
16. Utah
last week: 16
This week: Salt Lake City Salt Lake Showcase vs. Mississippi State (Saturday); vs. Eastern Washington (Dec. 20)
What to know: The Utes could have a big night on offense. But they struggled to defend consistently and were terrible at rebounding. That’s not a good sign for upcoming conference games.
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Jacob Unruh is The Oklahoman’s deputy sports editor. Have a story idea for Jacob? You can contact him at junruh@oklahoman.com or @jacobunruh on Twitter. Support the work of Jacobs and other Oklahoma journalists by purchasing one Subscribe digitally now at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared in Oklahoma State: Big 12 basketball power rankings: Arizona or No. 1 Iowa?
