Men’s College Basketball: UNI, Iowa State Ranked Among Nation’s Elite

One of the best starts in program history has earned the UNI men's basketball team a top-25 ranking for the first time in four years, while Iowa State makes a significant jump in both national polls.

This week's Associated Press (AP) and USA Today coaches polls were both released today (Monday, December 8, 2014). UNI debuted at No. 23 in the AP survey, while the Cyclones jumped six spots to 13th. The Panthers premiered at No. 24 in the coaches poll, which also featured a six-spot climb for Iowa State to No. 14.

The top-25 ranking is the first for UNI since the season-ending polls of 2010, the year the Panthers upset top-ranked Kansas and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.

"It's great for our program," UNI Coach Ben Jacobson said Monday. "This is an accomplishment and I think it's terrific. I'm really proud of our guys for putting themselves in a position to be ranked in the top 25."

The Panthers improved to 8-0 with a 71-65 overtime victory over George Mason in Cedar Falls Saturday night. UNI’s perfect start is the fourth time that the Panthers have started a season with eight consecutive victories in the history of the program.

UNI has a pair of road games this week, playing at Denver Wednesday night and at Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) on Saturday.

The Panthers are looking to start a season 9-0 for only the third time in school history. In 1922-23, Head Coach L.L. Mendenhall led UNI to an overall mark of 10-1. In 1963-64, Head Coach Norm Stewart guided the Panthers to a 23-4 campaign.

Iowa State is off to a 5-1 start this season. The Cyclones bounced back from their lone loss with a pair of home wins last week. They trounced Lamar 96-59 on Tuesday before blowing out then 18th-ranked Arkansas 95-77.

The Cyclones have three games before the rankings are released again next Monday. Iowa State hosts Missouri-Kansas City tomorrow night (Tuesday, December 9th) and Southern on Sunday afternoon. On Friday, the Cyclones have a tough road test at Iowa.

Despite a 7-2 start, Iowa remains unranked. The Hawkeyes, though, are among the teams receiving votes in both polls.