Only Iowa has 3 ranked men’s hoops teams

It's been said if you live long enough you'll see everything. That is, of course, ridiculous.

World peace, the Cubs winning the World Series, me having a rich relative - never going to occur.

However, we have seen something today that has never happened before. The men's basketball teams of our three state universities are all nationally ranked.

This week's Associated Press poll has Iowa State ninth, Northern Iowa 20th, and Iowa 25th. The Hawkeyes are making their first appearance in the AP poll since the week of March 3, 2014. Iowa State hasn't been outside the AP Top 25 since Nov. 11, 2013. This is the fifth week this season Northern Iowa has been in the AP poll.

Iowa is the only state with more than two teams ranked in the current AP poll. Among those with none: California, Illinois, Michigan and New York.

This is the first time Iowa and UNI have been ranked simultaneously since 2006. This is the first season the Panthers have been ranked since 2010.

Iowa State and UNI had never been ranked at the same time until this season.

In the USA TODAY coaches' poll, the Cyclones are 12th, the Panthers are 19th, and the Hawkeyes are unranked. Iowa got the 28th-most votes.

Iowa State is the highest-ranked Big 12 team in both polls, though six teams from that league are in both sets of rankings.

Weirdly, the Cyclones host Kansas State Tuesday night. K-State is one of the four unranked Big 12 teams, but it leads the conference with a 4-1 mark. ISU and Kansas are 3-1. Kansas hosts Oklahoma tonight.

Wisconsin, which plays Iowa in Madison Tuesday night, is the highest-ranked Big Ten team at No. 5 in the coaches' poll, No. 6 in the AP poll.

It wasn't all that long ago when Iowa and Iowa State weren't very good in men's hoops. And this is the first year UNI has been ranked since its Sweet 16 run of 2010. So enjoy.