23. Iowa Hawkeyes
Record: 8-2 (0-2 Big Ten)
Last Week: Not Ranked
I was extremely high on Iowa heading into last season and felt the same way this time around. But I did not expect, though, that the Hawkeyes would be a consistent top-25 this season and that is seemingly what they are so far. With a collection of victories that includes those over Oregon, UConn, Pittsburgh, and Iowa State, it is hard to argue against the idea that the Hawkeyes belong in this list. They have, though, lost their only two matchups against currently ranked teams and their inability to win those top-tier games so far this year has limited their ceiling in the top-25.
Even with this said, though, it is important to mention that the Hawkeyes have climbed into the top-25 with one of their best players struggling tremendously. Junior guard Jordan Bohannon is only averaging 9.8 points and 2.6 assists on 32.1% shooting from 3-point range. If he starts to return to where he was last season (13.5 and 5.4 on 43.0%), then this will be a very dangerous team.
Looking ahead, the Hawkeyes should dominate each of their next three games. Additionally, Iowa’s high-powered offense might be able to threaten some single-game scoring records against Savannah State. That will surely be a high-scoring affair on Dec. 22 that you should tune into if you want to see more points than a pinball game.