NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: West Virginia rises, Louisville falls

Northern Iowa did not play a game during this past week and therefore remains steady at the back-end of my Top 25. The Panthers have been a pleasant surprise to begin this season and also own one of the most underrated resumes nationally. For starters, they boast an 11-1 record that very teams in the country can match. Additionally, Northern Iowa holds three true roads win over Northern Illinois, Colorado, and Grand Canyon while also beating South Carolina on a neutral-site.

The Panthers’ lone loss to date came at a neutral-site against West Virginia, who is steadily climbing the polls with each week as a Top 15 team in the country. It’s also not like Northern Iowa was blown out in that game as it fell by just five points. Northern Iowa has clearly emerged as the favorite to win the Missouri Valley, in my opinion, and is flying under-the-radar as a legitimate at-large threat.

The Panthers are superb on the offensive end of the floor and can score in a variety of ways. They are most well-known as an elite 3-point shooting team but can also pound the ball inside and score at the rim. Ranking in the Top 150 nationally in both offensive and defensive rebounding rates should not be scoffed at, either.

This team nearly brings the total package but struggles to win the turnover battle. They do not force a ton of mistakes and often commit silly turnovers themselves. If they can solve that issue, then they will dominate the MVC with ease.