Iowa State had its 12-game winning streak snapped over the weekend at West Virginia. If you were wondering how the Cyclones would respond Tuesday night, the answer is with a whole bunch of points.
Final score: Iowa State 108, UCF 83.
The 108 points are the most Iowa State has ever scored in regulation of a Big 12 game. Junior forward Joshua Jefferson, a transfer from Saint Mary’s, was responsible for 30 of those points — plus seven rebounds, five assists and four steals while helping the Cyclones improve to 16-2 and remain No. 3 in Wednesday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Auburn is No. 1 for the 15th straight day.
“With Joshua, obviously, we’re seeing, with every game, how he’s continuing to impact winning in different ways,” said ISU coach TJ Otzelberger, whose team improved to 11-0 at Hilton Coliseum. “Tonight, you could just tell he had the confidence in his shot. He puts the work in. So it’s great.”
Up next for Iowa State is its first two-game road trip to the Grand Canyon State. The Cyclones will play at Arizona State on Saturday, then at Arizona on Monday. Heading into the weekend, Iowa State and Arizona are tied for second in the Big 12 standings with 6-1 league records. They both trail only Houston, which is 14-3 overall and 6-0 in the Big 12 — but just 2-3 in Quadrant 1 with zero wins over teams currently ranked in the Top 25 And 1.
Is Houston really good again? Yes, I think so.
But if you’re one of the people who have noticed that I have the Cougars 11 spots lower in the Top 25 And 1 than where they are in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, please read the last part of that description of Houston’s body of work two paragraphs above.
Again, the Cougars are 2-3 in Quadrant 1 with zero wins over teams in the Top 25 And 1 — or teams in the top 35 at EvanMiya.com, which is why I have Houston 18th in the Top 25 And 1, and why Jerry Palm has the Cougars projected as a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, because those numbers are much more in line with the substance of their resume than the number AP voters have placed beside Houston’s name.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
2
Mississippi State
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