While many didn’t expect Iowa State to toss Michigan aside on Sunday, the 77-70 result was no upset. As long as Iowa State has fielded competitive teams, Hilton Coliseum has been one of the nation’s toughest road venues for visitors, especially those coming from outside the Big 12. Even before it was announced that Melvin Ejim would be available a solid two weeks before his original prognosis suggested, the Cyclones were one-point favorites, according to Ken Pomeroy. Yesterday’s win showed that while it’s still November, the Cyclones are further ahead than expected, especially on the defensive end. Dustin Hogue notched his first double-double in only his third game at the D-I level and Ejim stuffed the stat sheet with nine rebounds and three steals to go along with his 22 points. Fans are rightfully celebrating a win in the biggest game on their team’s non-league schedule, but it’s worth taking a look ahead to see what the near future portends.

Melvin Ejim and the Cyclones don’t have much time to celebrate their big win over Michigan. (USATSI)

Things don’t get any easier for Iowa State, at least not right away. They have just two days to get ready for a date at BYU on Wednesday, and while everyone knows about the Cyclones’ perimeter power, they shot just 30 percent from behind the arc on Sunday. Even if great efforts from Ejim, Hogue and Georges Niang inspire Iowa State to go inside more often, their outside shooters will need to perform better if they want to outlast the Cougars at the raucous Marriott Center, especially if Tyler Haws is recovered from an abdominal strain suffered last week.

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Week one is in the books. One of the reasons college basketball is so great is because elite teams choose to play other elite teams early in the season. This was the case last week, as Michigan State played Kentucky and Kansas played Duke in Tuesday’s Champions Classic in Chicago. The Spartans and Jayhawks were victorious in these marquee match-ups, and as a result, they both leaped the Wildcats and the Blue Devils into the top few spots of our poll. Losing to top competition did not impact Kentucky and Duke’s positions too much, as they both remained in the top five. Michigan was the only team that fell out of the preseason top 10, as the Wolverines were victim on the road to Iowa State and Hilton Magic on Sunday afternoon. Due to the victory, the previously unranked Cyclones also moved into this week’s RTC25.

This week’s QnD after the jump…

Quick ‘n Dirty Analysis.

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Where in the world would we be without the nonstop stream of information that is Twitter? If college basketball is your thing, and more specifically, if Big 12 college basketball is your thing, take a scroll through our list of Twitter must-follows for the conference, and ensure you’ll stay in-the-know by filling your feed with the content provided by these accounts.

If You Follow These Big 12-Related Accounts, You’ll Be Covered

Big 12 Conference

• Sam Mellinger – Kansas City Star – @Mellinger
• Chuck Carlton – Dallas Morning News – @ChuckCarltonDMN
• Blair Kerkhoff – Kansas City Star – @BlairKerkhoff
• Jason King – ESPN – @JasonKingESPN
• Fran Fraschilla – ESPN – @FranFraschilla
• CJ Moore – Bleacher Report – @CJMoore4

Baylor

• OurDailyBears – Baylor’s SB Nation Blog – @OurDailyBears
• Baylor Illustrated – BaylorIllustrated.com – @BaylorFoxSports
• John Werner – Waco Tribune-Herald – @JohnWernerTrib
• Waco Tribune Sports – Waco Tribune-Herald – @WacoTribSports

Iowa State

• Bobby La Gesse – Ames Tribune – @BobbyLaGesse
• Randy Peterson – The Des Moines Register – @RandyPete
• Clones Confidential – FanSided Blog – @ISUConfidential
• Travis Hines – Ames Tribune – @TravisHines21
• WRNL – Iowa State’s SB Nation Blog – @WideRtNattyLt

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1. Gary Parrish is updating his Top 25 (And One) daily this season, which will be fun to look out for each and every afternoon. Not surprisingly, he has Michigan State at No. 1 in the country after beating then-No. 1 Kentucky last week and hanging on against Columbia over the weekend. Kansas is third, Oklahoma State is seventh, Baylor is 22nd, and Iowa State jumped from unranked to 15th after beating Michigan at home on Sunday, 77-70.
2. Never fear, Kansas fans. Cliff Alexander signed his National Letter of Intent on Saturday morning. The No. 4 overall recruit on Rivals.com committed to Kansas on Friday afternoon but said he wasn’t going to sign until January at the earliest, keeping his options open as well as the possibility of committing elsewhere before next summer. Whether it was a change of heart or a friendly nudge in a phone call from Bill Self, Alexander is signed and ready for his one year of college, or so says his AAU coach. Speaking of Cliff Alexander…
3. Friday’s hat ceremony involving the Chicago prospect was anything from awful to hilarious to bush league, depending on the whom you ask. If you missed it, Alexander at first picked up an Illinois hat before setting it down and donning a Kansas hat instead, giving Illinois fans a few seconds of pure joy before ripping it all away. If you’re not an Illinois fan and not at work (unless you have headphones), do yourself a favor and watch the videos of student reactions on CBSSports.com, then thank me later.
4. As John Helsley of The Oklahoman points out, the barrage of great match-ups early in the season has tomorrow’s Oklahoma State/Memphis showdown in Stillwater flying somewhat under the radar. Surprisingly, it will be the first top-15 non-conference match-up (Oklahoma State is eighth, Memphis 13th) in Gallagher-Iba Arena since the 1957-58 season. Between Marcus Smart and Memphis guards Joe Jackson and Michael Dixon, it looks to be one of the best perimeter showcases of the non-conference season.
5. When Kansas signed Andrew Wiggins in May, its odds to win the 2014 NCAA title jumped from 30 to 1 to 10 to 1 overnight. The day before beating Duke last week, those odds had improved to 11 to 2 to cut down the nets in Dallas next April. Oklahoma State follows at 18 to 1 and then we see a drop all the way down to Iowa State at 100 to 1 (although erxpect Sunday’s win over Michigan to improve those odds a bit). The shocker is Baylor, a Top 25 team with the same odds (125 to 1) as a team like Creighton. The worst odds in the league for a team you can bet on is Kansas State, where a $1 bet nets you $300 if the Wildcats end up winning it all.

Michigan and Iowa State are both off to white-hot starts this season. While neither have played competitive teams (their four combined opponents average out to a lowly KenPom rating of #320), the Wolverines and Cyclones have looked terrific in the early going, despite each team being without their best frontcourt player. Neither Melvin Ejim nor Mitch McGary have played a single minute this season, and while that would make a dent in most teams’ rotations, Fred Hoiberg and John Beilein’s teams haven’t skipped a beat. Among the squads’ four combined games so far, the slimmest margin of victory has been 27 points. That figures to change today, however, when the Wolverines and Cyclones square off at Hilton Coliseum early Sunday evening (5:00 PM ET). While McGary and Ejim’s statuses are up in the air, we should be in for a terrific game whether or not they suit up.

Michigan’s Caris LeVert has come up big so far this season.

McGary may be a preseason All-American and Ejim a preseason all-conference pick, but both teams’ offenses will still be on display in Ames even if their stars spend Sunday afternoon on the sidelines. When either Iowa State or Michigan come up in conversations, the first thing that comes to mind is the dizzying level of havoc both teams can wreak from outside. Sophomore Nik Stauskas has connected on six of his first nine three-point attempts for the Wolverines, and that isn’t even good enough to make him the best shooter on his team this year. That honor goes to fellow sophomore Caris Levert, who has spread defenses by hitting seven of his first 10 attempts beyond the arc, allowing fans to breathe easy about Michigan’s backcourt following the departures of Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway. It may be early, but both Stauskas and Levert are shooting better on threes than on two-point shots, which is absolutely wild to think about (and at the same time, highly unsustainable). Throw in Glenn Robinson III and freshman Derrick Walton, who are both capable of shooting better than they have in the young season, and you have a group that can absolutely destroy teams with its firepower.

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1. Kansas has another big day today as Jahlil Okafor, Tyus Jones and Cliff Alexander are scheduled to make their college decisions this afternoon, and The Sporting News has a solid breakdown of Jones’ and Okafor’s recruitment and what the commitments will mean for the winner of their services.. The rumor mill has led many to believe that the package deal of Okafor and Jones are leaning towards Duke while Illinois is considered the leader for Alexander, a blue-chip prospect from Chicago. Even though Kelly Oubre is already committed to the Jayhawks for the 2014-15 season, Kansas may need to reload in a hurry with Andre Wiggins, Wayne Selden and Joel Embiid dotting mock drafts throughout the blogosphere.
2. It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but Iowa State has one big weekend in store. For starters, the Cyclones host top-flight 2014 recruit Rashad Vaughn. Touted as perhaps the best shooting guard prospect in his class, Vaughn has drawn comparisons to Ben McLemore with his shooting stroke and strength in a 6’6″ frame. While a decision isn’t expected in the immediate future, a commitment would send a message that not only can Fred Hoiberg land impact transfers, but he can make his presence felt on the prep level as well. The Cyclones top off the weekend Sunday night when they face top-10 foe Michigan at Hilton Coliseum.
3. Their season is only two games old, but Kansas State hasn’t done much to change the minds of skeptics who are leery of their offense. The Wildcats’ defense has been fine so far, as it held both Northern Colorado and Oral Roberts to less than a point per possession, but Bruce Weber‘s team already ranks eighth in the conference in offensive efficiency. The next opponent on Kansas State’s schedule is Long Beach State, which hasn’t been the least bit impressive, so the 49ers appear to provide the Wildcats with a chance to get right on the offensive end.
4. Burnt Orange Nation’s Jeff Haley is one of the best there is when it comes to breaking down advanced metrics, and his number-crunching tells us that Jonathan Holmes and Isaiah Taylor have been worth the price of admission through Texas‘ first two games. Haley also points out that the Longhorns have played a fair amount of zone defense, perhaps in an effort to keep Rick Barnes’ inexperienced and thin personnel from getting into foul trouble.
5. Oklahoma forward Ryan Spangler has been a work horse for the Sooners. Playing a key role in Oklahoma’s 3-0 start, Spangler has averaged 13.0 points to go along with 8.3 rebounds per game. Spangler also rejected three shots against Idaho on Wednesday and will look to keep the momentum rolling when the Sooners tip off against Seton Hall tonight in Brooklyn.

1. Oklahoma State freshman Stevie Clark is adjusting quickly to the college game. Clark has put up some very efficient numbers in the early going, averaging 12 points and seven assists in just 21 minutes of action per game. If he can maintain a similar level of production behind Marcus Smart as the Cowboys’ schedule toughens up, Clark will have a great case for being the league’s best sixth man. Oklahoma State is still searching for answers down low, but between Smart, Clark, Markel Brown and Phil Forte, the Cowboys have an embarrassment of riches in their backcourt.
2. Iowa State continues to receive outstanding contributions from its newcomers, but Tuesday night, it was junior forward Dustin Hogue who stepped up for Fred Hoiberg’s team by chipping in 13 points on just six shots to go along with eight rebounds and two steals against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cyclones will be without Melvin Ejim against Michigan this Sunday in Ames, but encouraging performances throughout ISU’s roster this week and an amazing homecourt advantage could give them just what they need to beat the Wolverines.
3. The Kansas Jayhawks have found production on their bench to weather early storms of foul trouble, according to Blair Kerkhoff of The Kansas City Star. Frank Mason and Brannen Greene are just two players who tend to get lost in the shuffle behind KU’s star-studded starting lineup, but they’ve provided huge minutes in supporting roles as the season has lifted off. As freshmen, they’ll only get better, so opponents shouldn’t expect a huge drop-off when Andrew Wiggins and Wayne Selden need to catch a few breathers.
4. There were no surprises in Lawrence on National Signing Day Wednesday. Kelly Oubre, who committed to the Jayhawks earlier this semester, sent in his NLI, cementing his pledge to play for Kansas next season. Oubre figures to take Andrew Wiggins’ place in the KU rotation as an explosive, long-armed wing. Kansas remains in the hunt for Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones, who will announce their decisions at the same time on Friday afternoon.
5. Kansas State bounced back from an ugly early loss to Northern Colorado by taking care of Oral Roberts in a 71-63 win Wednesday night. Freshman Marcus Foster joined some esteemed company, becoming the first Wildcat freshman since Michael Beasley to score 25 points in a game. Head coach Bruce Weber has repeatedly insisted that his veterans need to lead offensively, and while that’s certainly an understandable sentiment, there are no sure things in his lineup. It would be wonderful for Kansas State if Shane Southwell, Will Spradling and Thomas Gipson could be counted on for 40 combined points on a nightly basis, but in the meantime, our unsolicited advice to Bruce Weber is to take your points wherever you can get them.

1. West Virginia‘s lack of depth came back to bite them Tuesday afternoon as Virginia Tech overcame a 17-point deficit to top the Mountaineers. Juwan Staten played 39 minutes despite a ghastly 3-of-12 shooting day and fellow guard Eron Harris was allowed to log 38 minutes of his own while going 4-of-17 from the field. Five of the nine players that saw the floor for Bob Huggins tallied at least four fouls, compounding WVU’s issues. Despite having a future Hall Of Famer on its sideline, West Virginia could be facing a long winter for the second straight year. This will likely go down as a “bad loss” in the tournament committee’s mind, and there aren’t many opportunities on the Mountaineers’ non-conference schedule for Huggins’ team to neutralize Tuesday’s effort.
2. When we laid out a possible road to redemption for Rick Barnes and Texas last month, we didn’t foresee South Alabama giving the Longhorns a scare. Boy, were we wrong to overlook Brad Stevens’ protege, Matthew Graves. His Jaguars raced out to a 15-6 lead and almost handed Texas one of its worst losses under its beleaguered coach, but the Longhorns dug out of a 14-point halftime deficit thanks to big second halves from Jonathan Holmes and Isaiah Taylor and went on to dispose of the Jaguars. 
3. Another Big 12 team that is probably thankful that the Champions Classic received all the attention Tuesday is TCU, which dropped a stunner to Longwood in Fort Worth last night. Trent Johnson‘s team continues to fight the injury bug and had four players sidelined for this one, but that’s no excuse for a team playing a squad that is only in its second season of  Division-I conference affiliation. Those hoping for a quick rebuild will probably need to adjust their expectations if they haven’t already.
4. Former Ohio State walk-on Mark Titus, who contributes for Grantland, released his Big 12 outlook yesterday, and like most things Titus writes, it’s an interesting read. From his entertaining superlatives (“Best Senior With A Slim Chance At An NBA Career”) to his ruminations on whether Kansas extends its streak of conference titles, we definitely recommend you take a look.
5. This time of year, the competition has to be taken into account, but Iowa State put forth a promising defensive effort against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Tuesday night. The Cyclones held the Islanders to 28.6% shooting from the floor and rebounded 76.9% of their misses. The biggest question surrounding Fred Hoiberg’s team is whether they will defend well enough to support its outstanding offensive potential. A bigger test looms Sunday, when Michigan pays a visit to Hilton Coliseum.

1. Tonight’s Champions Classic match-up between Kansas and Duke features two of college basketball’s top programs, coaches and freshmen, but there’s another battle going on between the two schools that won’t be decided until later this week. Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones will announce their collegiate choices Friday afternoon, according to a tweet from Okafor. The Jayhawks and Blue Devils have long been discussed as the top two competitors for the long-rumored packaged deal, and while the chase hasn’t been the public roller coaster that some recruiting stories can be, it looks like we’ll finally have some resolution.
2. Yesterday, we touched on Naz Long‘s coming-out party Sunday afternoon in which he went off for 27 points against UNC Wilmington. The performance has the Des Moines Register’s Randy Peterson wondering if Long could see more playing time when Melvin Ejim returns. It’s important to note that Long and Ejim don’t play the same position, but finding enough minutes to go around is always a good problem to have, especially in November. After all, Long is no stranger to playing alongside major talent — his AAU teammates included Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennett.
3. For the second straight game, Oklahoma guard Buddy Hield posted a career-high in the scoring column, making his presence felt by dropping 23 points on North Texas last night. Hield is now averaging 21 points per game, and he still has a long way to go, but if Hield and the Sooners keep this up, they could lead the Sooners to another NCAA Tournament bid.
4. West Virginia head coach Bob Huggins believes he’ll need every ounce of production he can get out of point guard Juwan Staten. After a rash of defections saw five transfers leave the Mountaineers (on top of three graduating players) over the summer, West Virginia is looking awfully thin. Staten played all 40 minutes of Friday’s season-opening win over St. Mary’s, and it will be interesting to see if he can be Huggins’ Iron Man in Morgantown like Kevin Jones and Da’Sean Butler before him.
5. The question of who emerges alongside Michael Cobbins to produce defensively in Oklahoma State‘s frontcourt won’t be solved in the Cowboys’ first two games, but head coach Travis Ford hopes to have a clearer idea after tonight‘s game against Utah Valley State in Stillwater. Sophomore Kamari Murphy will be available after missing the season opener with a mild shoulder injury and is one candidate that Ford hopes will make the leap.

1. Texas finally made it official on Wednesday, hiring Steve Patterson to be the new director of athletics at the school. Patterson is leaving Arizona State after working as that school’s athletic director since March 2012, but he has plenty of ties to the state of Texas. He has a law degree from the Austin campus; he was the general manager of the Houston Rockets from 1989-93; he was senior vice president of the Houston Texans from 1997-2003; and he was part of the group that brought Super Bowl XXXVIII to Houston. A big decision ahead for Patterson will be how he handles the future of head coach Rick Barnes as the program has taken a nosedive the past few seasons. Fortunately for Barnes, Patterson won’t assume his new role until next summer.
2. The promotions staff at Kansas State deserves a million percent raise for their latest ingenious idea. For K-State women’s basketball opener Friday night, the first 1,000 fans that enter the Octagon of Doom with a student ID will receive six slices of bacon in a tray. Kansas State’s sports information director Randy Peterson had this to say on the promotion: “Bacon is very popular.” And frankly, that’s all he needed to say. This man approves.
3. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger announced Wednesday that the career of junior Keshaun Hamilton may be over before it had a chance to get started. Hamilton, a junior college transfer, has fallen behind Ryan Spangler and Cameron Clark on the Sooner front line but there doesn’t seem to be any playing time coming his way. “He’s kind of thinking through everything right now,” Kruger told the The Oklahoma Daily. “He doesn’t know if he wants to redshirt or go some place D-II right away in January.” As a sophomore at Labette Community College (KS) last year, Hamilton averaged 9.4 points, seven rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. It must be frustrating to arrive at a new place where he thought he’d get some playing time only to find there won’t be any. We wish him the best in his remaining career.
4. SB Nation‘s Ohio State blog, Land-Grant Holy Land, has confirmed a report that several Nike brand schools, including Texas, will wear alternate throwback jerseys in a game or games yet to be determined later this year. Other Nike brands like Kentucky, Michigan State and Duke have throwback jerseys they could honor but… what exactly does Texas have to look back on? I guess they could try to resurrect the jerseys from the T.J. Ford/Final Four year in 2003. Kevin Durant would later wear his #35 with the same style in 2006. Sigh, those were happier times for Longhorns fans.
5. Staying with SB Nation blogs, Wide Right & Natty Light has come up with perhaps the greatest shirt ever known to man just in time for the start of Iowa State’s season. If you’re a fan of the dearly-departed TV series Breaking Bad, then this has you written all over it. It’s Walter White meets Fred Hoiberg and thus creating: Hoisenberg, the hoops kingpin of Ames, Iowa. (!!!) If you’re not interested in buying it, it’s just as awesome to look at for free but if you do, show some love for WRNL and Iowa State hoops.