Iowa State Basketball: Early 2015-16 Outlook

The Iowa State Cyclones fell out of the 2015 NCAA Tournament to the UAB Blazers in one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, but head into the 2015-16 season as one of the dark horse favorites to win the National Championship. Despite the departure of their head coach, Fred Hoiberg, to the Chicago Bulls, Iowa State brings back enough talent and experience to compete for the Big 12 title and, if everything falls their way, a national championship.

The Cyclones return their three leading scorers from last season, Jameel McKay, Mont Morris and Georges Niang. Niang is a legitimate contender for Player of the Year, and Morris has the potential to take a major step up in scoring. However, the real key for ISU will be their depth. Several members of this roster have seen significant time on the court, meaning that any number of players could step up and pick up the slack if McKay, Morris or Niang have an off night.

Hoiberg’s departure causes the Cyclones to drop behind the Kansas Jayhawks in the Big 12 preseason favorite race at the moment, but being the slight underdog in a conference as difficult as the Big 12 shouldn’t worry ISU fans. With the talent across the conference, the Big 12 could easily have four teams in the Elite Eight. There is no doubt in my mind that every single Big 12 team will have at least one loss in conference play, so anything can happen.

Expect Iowa State to compete for the Big 12 regular season title and have a good run in the Big 12 Tournament, but where I personally expect this team to succeed will be the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones are built for a deep tournament run and, with a new coach, should get better as the season moves along. Watch out for Iowa State, because the talent is there to be the best team in the country.

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.