NBA News NBA News, Match Reports and Updates
The Iowa State Cyclones men’s basketball team suffered a massive blow when Milan Momcilovic entered the 2026 NBA Draft and subsequently put his name in the transfer portal as well.
He was the third starter from last season’s team that wouldn’t be returning, since Tamin Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson both exhausted their eligibility. Momcilovic was hoping to live out his dream of being drafted into the NBA, but that is going to wait another year.
Advertisement
He withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft and eventually selected the Kentucky Wildcats as the team he would be playing with during his senior year. That decision has had a major impact on the way-too-early top 25 shared by Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
The Cyclones were already a little underappreciated, coming in at No. 18 in the previous rankings. In the update shared most recently, they have plummeted even further down the top 25.
Iowa State wrongly moving down top 25
Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger calls a play during the second half against the Kentucky Wildcats during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. | Jeff Le-Imagn Images
Iowa State comes in at No. 24, dropping six spots. One of the reasons for their drop? Momcilovic selected Kentucky, which went from unranked previously to No. 17 in the rankings, for one of the biggest leaps in the rankings.
Advertisement
The biggest move up the rankings belongs to the St. John’s Red Storm. They added Tounde Yessoufou after he withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft, catapulting them from No. 19 to No. 7. He received an NIL deal worth just below $6 million, which likely helped set up Momcilovic for his deal, which was more than $6 million.
Another team that moved ahead of the Cyclones was the Gonzaga Bulldogs. They swapped spots with Iowa State, going from No. 24 to No. 18.
One of their Big 12 rivals, the Kansas Jayhawks, is also back in the top 25. They, too, were jumped over the Cyclones, being placed at No. 23 after…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/iowa-state-wrongly-drops-top-120005664.html
Author :
Publish date : 2026-06-05 12:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
