The Big 12 preseason poll was announced Thursday and Iowa State, despite being the only team to steal a first-place vote from Kansas, found itself slotted in third by a narrow margin behind second-place Oklahoma.

The poll is voted on by Big 12 head coaches, who rank each team from first to tenth place, then a point system is applied and added together to decide overall rankings. 

Kansas received nine first place votes and 81 total points. Oklahoma finished with 70 points, two points ahead of Iowa State’s 68. The Cyclones also received the one first-place vote that kept the Jayhawks from being a unanimous No. 1. 

The poll is rounded out with Texas in fourth position, followed in descending order by Baylor, West Virginia and Oklahoma State. Kansas State and Texas Christian tied for the No. 8 position with 18 points, and Texas Tech rounded out the poll in last place with 15 points.

The poll has tended to be inaccurate in recent years, at least when applied to the Cyclones. Iowa State players were miffed last season after the coaches picked the team to finish fifth.

The Cyclones went on to end the regular season alone in second place before repeating as Big 12 tournament champions.

While a narrow third-place finish isn’t likely to make this year’s ISU team too indignant due to perceived disrespect, landing outside the top two rankings should provide some extra motivation in the weeks before the season officially begins against Colorado on Nov. 13.