Cyclones Are For Real

I'm not just an over zealous alumnus when I say that the Iowa State men's basketball team will not only make the NCAA tournament, they will also make some noise there. Yesterday's 63-61 overtime upset of second-ranked Kansas is the game that put the Clones in the national spotlight, but this team didn't come out of nowhere.

After starting a dismal 0-5 in the Big 12 conference, Coach Wayne Morgan's team performed a complete 180. First came Oklahoma, a confident, ranked team that entered Hilton Coliseum fully expecting to destroy ISU. But the Cyclones came away with the upset on their home court, and the tides had been turned.

Baylor, Texas, Nebraska, Texas Tech, Kansas State and Kansas all followed. Anyone who was in Iowa State's path was removed. They have now won 7 straight conference games and have beaten four ranked teams in a row in less than a month.

This is a team the selection committee will fall in love with. A run like that late in the season will be good enough to give the Cyclones not only a berth in the Big Dance, but a decent seed. And then watch out. Anything can happen with this team. They proved that yesterday in Lawrence, Kansas.