Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball: Updated way-too-early rankings after the NBA Draft

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 04: The Michigan Wolverines celebrate after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-66 during the championship game of the Big 10 Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 04: The Michigan Wolverines celebrate after defeating the Purdue Boilermakers 75-66 during the championship game of the Big 10 Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 4, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 28: Bohannon #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes high fives (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY – FEBRUARY 28: Bohannon #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes high fives (Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Iowa finished 4-14 in conference play a year ago, which was good enough for tied for 11th and second-to-last place in the conference. This was obviously a tough season for the Hawkeyes’ fanbase to handle but the team was extremely young. Because of this, every major returner from last year is returning for the 2018-19 season. t is fairly remarkable to think that all of these players are returning and there will still be only one senior on the roster in 2018-19 who played more than 15 minutes per game a year ago. It is reasonable to be at least a little bit excited about this team but let’s not overdo the expectations.

Leading the way will be the dynamic duo of Tyler Cook (15.3 points, 6.8 rebounds) and Jordan Bohannon (13.5 points, 5.4 assists). These players complement each other extremely well in that Cook is the attacking wing who scores through traffic around the basket while Bohannon is arguably the best 3-point shooter in the conference. Alongside this duo is also rising junior Isaiah Moss. A 6-foot-6 wing, Moss averaged 11.1 points per game last season while providing a solid boost. In addition, rising sophomore Luka Garza will throw his name into the ring as one of the best young big men in the Big Ten. He averaged 12.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game.

These group of four will be the clear leaders for Iowa next season while there are some solid surrounding pieces. Nicholas Baer, Maishe Dailey, Cordell Pemsl, and Jack Nunge all also played over 15 minutes per game last season and will reprise similar roles during this upcoming season. Two other potential contributors, Connor McCaffery and incoming freshman Joe Wieskamp, will also be joining the team for their first full seasons.

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