After Iowa State beat a top team (Purdue) in the Associated Press Top 25 poll on Saturday as badly as anyone has ever beaten a top team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, it was fair to wonder how the Cyclones would respond to their in-state rival five days later.
They weren’t that good in the first half.
Overall they closed strong.
So, all is well with that ending
Joshua Jefferson took 14 shots, made seven and finished with 24 points, five rebounds, two steals and two blocks in his final outing.
Jefferson was great.
The 6-foot-1 senior, whose college career began at Saint Mary’s, is now averaging 18.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.5 steals in 30.0 minutes per game. He is No. 2 in KenPom’s Player of the Year rankings, well behind Boozer but comfortably ahead of North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson, who is ranked third, and Alabama’s Labaron Philon, who is ranked fourth.
Yaxel Lendeborg from Michigan is fifth.
Iowa State remains No. 4 in Friday morning’s updated CBS Sports Top 25 and 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Michigan is still No. 1. Next up for the Cyclones is Sunday’s game against Eastern Illinois. Iowa State won’t play another currently ranked team until it meets Kansas on Jan. 13, and KenPom doesn’t expect the Cyclones to be an underdog again this season until they play at BYU on Feb. 21.
Top 25 and 1 rankings
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