Jeff Borzello, Basketball recruiting insider 4y

College basketball's first-year coaches: Who's overachieving, who's behind schedule?

NCAA Men's Basketball, DePaul Blue Demons, Utah State Aggies, Arizona Wildcats, Oklahoma Sooners, Boston College Eagles, Indiana Hoosiers, Minnesota Golden Gophers, UNLV Rebels, Iowa State Cyclones, North Carolina Tar Heels, UNC Greensboro Spartans, Penn State Nittany Lions, Marquette Golden Eagles, Cincinnati Bearcats, East Tennessee State Buccaneers, George Mason Patriots, Utah Utes, New Mexico Lobos, Loyola Chicago Ramblers, Texas Tech Red Raiders, Portland Pilots, Texas Longhorns

Entering last week's NIT Season Tip-Off in New York, Iowa State was viewed as the clear-cut fourth basketball team in the field. Three top-25 teams -- Memphis, Virginia Tech, Xavier -- battling for the championship, and the Cyclones there to round out the field.

By the end of the week, Iowa State was the highest-ranked member of the foursome in ESPN's Power RankingsĀ and slotted at No. 19 in the AP poll.

Given that Iowa State won two games all of last season and the Cyclones have tripled that total within three weeks, it's an understatement to say everything is a little ahead of schedule for new head coach T.J. Otzelberger and his team.

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