Cyclones Tourney Hopes (1 Week Left)

With just a week left until Selection Sunday Iowa State appears to have put themselves in a position to make their second straight NCAA tournament experience with two wins this last week.  After laying an egg against Oklahoma it appeared that ISU might let that Kansas game ruin their season.  They bounced back in a big way on Senior Night and didn't let a 27 point lead turn into a loss against West Virginia.  Lets take a look at the numbers...

Current Resume:

Overall Record: 21-10
Conference Record: 11-7
Big Wins: #11 Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma, @Baylor, Oklahoma State
Bad Losses: @Texas Tech, @Texas
RPI: 47
BPI:35

*The Baylor wins may not carry much weight now but could if the Bears win a couple games in the Big 12 tournament

Bracket Matrix:

They are currently in 76 out the 76 possible brackets on Bracket Matrix and are listed as an 11 seed.  This has partially been aided by the bubble team being as soft as a baby's...you get the idea.  I don't see a loss against Oklahoma hurting this team.  In fact after OU lost Saturday against TCU they may need this game more than ISU.

Before I give my prediction for next Sunday lets take a look at the original projection on January 15th.

My Prediction (1/15) **This is based on what I predict will happen, not their resume to date**

I think Iowa State will pile up the wins in Big 12 play.  The league is just not very good.  ISU could finish as high as 2nd in the conference.  I don't see them losing any game at home except maybe Kansas.  I think they have at least four road wins in them.  My final season results are as follows...

Predicted:

Overall Record: 23-8
Conference Record: 13-5 (Losses: @OSU, @OU, @BU, @Kansas, vs Kansas)
Big Wins: Kansas State, Baylor, Oklahoma St., Oklahoma, @Kansas St.
Bad Losses: None (although OU could go from big win to bad loss depending on which way they go)

Overall Seed: 7 (Just because I hope they stay off the 8/9 line)

If you change a few bounces here or there that actually wasn't too bad of a prediction for January.  They were much closer to winning the league than most people thought.

 My Prediction (3/10) **This is based on what I predict will happen, not their resume to date**

The Cyclones are in.  They pass the eye test, the resume test and there is even a little insurance if the committee considers the debacle in Ames.  They have a chance to solidify themselves with some wins in Kansas City.  I think they have a few in them.  Their first game actually worries me more than their potential next two.  To me, ISU starts as an 11 seed and moves up 1.5 seeds for every win in KC.


Seed: 10 
Site: Austin, Texas 
Opponent: North Carolina