Iowa State’s blowout win has experts seeing Cyclones as a No. 1 seed in NCAAs

The Iowa State men’s basketball program continued its perfect record in the Big 12 Tournament’s championship game.

Iowa State thrashed top-seeded Houston 69-41 on Saturday night at the T-Mobile Center, and the Cyclones improved to 6-0 all-time in Big 12 Tournament championship games.

The Cyclones, who are ranked seventh in the nation, are seen as a No. 2 seed for the NCAA Tournament, by Bart Torvik’s ratings.

But CBS Sports’ Chris Hassel believes Iowa State could have a shot at a No. 1 seed should North Carolina lose in the ACC Tournament.

“I cannot believe this performance by Iowa State,” Hassel wrote on Twitter. “If NCST stuns UNC later idk how you can’t at least consider them for final #1 seed.”

Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Eisenberg shared a look at the résumés for Iowa State and North Carolina.

UPDATE: The Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels 84-76 and the Cyclones are now projected to be a No. 1 seed by CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm. Gary Parrish and Kyle Boone of CBS Sports also see the Cyclones getting a No. 1 seed.

“The fourth and final No. 1 seed could be any of North Carolina, Tennessee or Iowa State, and the committee has a tough choice to make there,” Boone wrote. “I went with the Cyclones given how they closed the weekend and considering their body of work. They stated their case in emphatic fashion Saturday with a 69-41 win over No. 1 seed Houston in the Big 12 Tournament championship to move to 10 Quadrant 1 wins. ISU also had six wins over top 25 teams on the season, including two over Houston, one over a top-10 Kansas team one over a top-20 TCU on the road. The Big 12 clearly produced two of the four best teams in the sport leading into Selection Sunday, and Iowa State should be rewarded accordingly.”

At the very least, the Cyclones should be headed to Omaha (Hilton West?) for the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. That’s regardless of whether Iowa State is seeded first or second.

Following the Big 12 tournament championship game, fans were hoping the Cyclones would get one of those No. 1 seeds.

Iowa State guard Tamin Lipsey said the Cyclones aren’t worried about what happens on Selection Sunday.

“We don’t really care what the outside world thinks of us,” Lipsey said. “That’s why we’re such a close group. We just put our head down and go to work. That’s why I don’t think there’s anyone else more deserving than our team to be in this position and celebrate this moment. ...

“The outside world can take whatever from this game and take whatever they want. But at the end of the day, we’re just gonna get right back to work.”