Big Ten Basketball Power Rankings: Purdue and Wisconsin pushing up

By Adam Childs | Feb 5, 2019

COLUMBUS, OH - JANUARY 23: Carsen Edwards #3 of the Purdue Boilermakers attempts to drive around Luther Muhammad #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes in the second half on January 23, 2019 at Value City Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Purdue defeated Ohio State 79-67. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) /

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- FEBRUARY 01: Forward Tyler Cook #25 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates with fans after the upset over the Michigan Wolverines on February 1, 2019 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

Iowa is flying high after a convincing win against Michigan on Friday night. It was one of the best defensive performances of the year for the Hawkeyes and it could not have come at a better time. Add in that they were just the second team to score over 70 points against the Wolverines and it made for a great night in Iowa City. They needed the win after a disappointing loss to Minnesota earlier in the week.

The Hawkeyes next three games are at Indiana, home versus Northwestern and then at Rutgers. If Iowa wants to be taken seriously they need to follow up their big win with wins against the lower part of the Big Ten. They have the offense to do it they just need to keep up their defense.

They showed in the non-conference they could win games, but have come out flat in too many Big Ten games. They have the talent to beat anybody in the conference they just need to prove it now. They sit firmly in the tournament right now, but they need to make sure they take care of business against teams they should beat. They came out fired up to play Michigan and will need the same intensity against the lesser teams. If they can do that they should push Wisconsin for the four seed heading into the Big Ten tournament.

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