If someone looked at the No. 10 Cyclones’ past three games, they would probably think it went just about as well as it could have. However, going undefeated in an event with high-level competition did not even give the Cyclones a podium finish.

The tournament featured some of the top teams in the country. With eight teams in the top 25 playing in the event, it was probably the most premier Feast Week tournament this season. It also included some weaker opponents like Rutgers and San Diego State. 

Each team had two games in which they already knew who they were playing, but the third game each team played featured some uncertainty. Additionally, it didn’t seem like the initial scheduling had any rhyme or reason.

The two games that were guaranteed for the Cyclones were against No. 14 St. John’s and Creighton. After taking down St. John’s 83-82 and Creighton 78-60, you’d think the Cyclones were in a good spot, but you would be wrong.

In order to advance to either the championship or third-place game, the criteria went first by record and then point differential and that is where the Cyclones got caught up. 

Iowa State was one of five teams to go 2-0 in the tournament, but instead of playing in the championship or third-place game, it got rewarded with a noon game against Syracuse, which went 0-2 in its first two games.

The Cyclones finished their first two games with a point differential of +19; the Jayhawks, who were one spot ahead of Iowa State, finished with a +21. 

In short, the layup St. John’s made with a second remaining was the difference between Iowa State tying the Jayhawks’ point differential and ultimately getting in due to the difference in points scored. 

Also, Head Coach T.J. Otzelberger opted to tell junior forward Milan Momcilovic not to shoot a three at the end of the Creighton game, which did not give the Cyclones a chance to max out the per-game point differential of 20, which would have tied the Jayhawks once again. 

I don’t disagree with Otzelberger’s philosophy, because shooting a three with seconds remaining when you are up by 18 points seems pretty unethical, and it isn’t something a team would do in the same situation in the NCAA Tournament. 

The event is looking to expand to 32 teams in 2026, and the Big 12 now has a deal that the top eight finishers in the conference will get an automatic bid into the event. This kind of Big 12 representation will provide lots of national recognition.

However, if the event continues to have the same format as it did this year, some of those Big 12 teams, along with the other 24 teams set to participate, may start to question whether or not they really want to be in it.

Now, the NIL that is given out is obviously a pretty big incentive to play in the tournament, but the format is tough to grasp. There are a few ways to avoid leaving out teams that may have done what they needed to be in contention for the extra NIL prize.

One of the easiest ways to clear up the confusion with the formatting and what teams need to do to get into the tournament is to split the 32 teams into eight pools of four, and the winner of each of those pools gets put into an eight-team bracket. 

With this pool-into-bracket format, each team is still guaranteed three games, and all you have to do to get into the bracket is win. Teams won’t need to pile on the points and feel pressured to shoot a three when they are up by 18 points.

Another way to reward teams that go undefeated in the first round is by ensuring every team that achieves that gets to advance. They could have had the Cyclones play Kansas for a spot in the third place game, or put the five 2-0 teams into a bracket to battle it out for a championship.

I am sure the organizer of the tournament has ideas to make more money or make the actual event more profitable, but in terms of basketball, it was underwhelming for Cyclone fans and players, doing what they were supposed to in the first two games and having to play a 0-2 team. 

There are still positives about the tournament and I look forward to seeing how it continues to revolutionize Feast Week, as it is likely the biggest week of non-conference basketball of the season.