Busting Brackets
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Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Wisconsin and Nebraska make gains after start to league play

By Austin Walther

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 01: Ethan Happ #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates the 59-54 win over the Maryland Terrapins during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 01: Ethan Happ #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers celebrates the 59-54 win over the Maryland Terrapins during the second round of the Big Ten Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 1, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 03: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes drives to the basket against Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 03: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes drives to the basket against Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

6. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)

Previous rank: 3

Iowa got off to such a hot start. I felt like a genius when I had them as the last team in my preseason Bracketology. They were in the top-five in our previous rankings because of their work in the 2K Classic. The wins over Oregon and UConn were great. The Hawkeyes shot into the top-25 for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. They beat Pittsburgh. But by just one. Iowa then faced two solid Big Ten teams and lost both.

The Hawkeyes knew coming into the season that Jordan Bohannon was a great point guard and shooter while Tyler Cook was excellent in the paint. They were also hoping for big things from sophomore Luka Garza. But this year, it’s been freshman Joe Wieskamp and coaches son Connor McCaffrey who have been contributing as well. Iowa also got Nicholas Baer to finally break through against the Panthers.

Cook scored over 15 in both Big Ten losses while hauling in quite a lot of rebounds. Their front court is looking especially well early on in the season which is a big reason why they’re ranked. The problem though has been Bohannon not running the point as well as he had and the three-point shooting has taken a hit.

Wieskamp has taken on the role of hitting outside shots while the junior point guard is in a slump. Isaiah Moss is another upperclassmen who adds great depth for Iowa and he has hit over 10 three-pointers this season. Iowa is still good. It would be foolish to believe that just because they started Big Ten play 0-2 means that they’re heading back down. The Hawkeyes just ran into two quality teams in December.

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