Iowa State men's basketball had its four-game winning streak broken up by a challenging opponent in Big 12-leading Houston. The task became even more difficult when the Cyclones were forced to play the Cougars without two of their leading scorers,

AP Poll voters put Iowa State at No. 9 in the week 17 AP Poll, dropping the Cyclones a spot coming off a 1-1 week. The Cyclones ranked No. 8 in the week 16 poll after a 79-65 win against Colorado and a 68-59 loss at Houston.