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NCAA Basketball Power Rankings: Penn State soaring, LSU falls

By Lukas Harkins

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 04: Jamari Wheeler #5 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts to a call in the second half of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center on February 4, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 04: Jamari Wheeler #5 of the Penn State Nittany Lions reacts to a call in the second half of the game against the Michigan State Spartans at the Breslin Center on February 4, 2020 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND – JANUARY 30: Kriener of Iowa reacts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND – JANUARY 30: Kriener of Iowa reacts. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

. Iowa Hawkeyes. 21. player. 483. .

Iowa was absolutely embarrassed on the road during its first game of this past week. While losing in Mackey Arena has been a trend for most of the Big Ten this season, the Hawkeyes entered as a nationally-ranked team and needed to put forth a much better effort in that game.

Instead, Purdue jumped out to an early lead, put up 61 first-half points, and never looked back. Iowa’s well-documented defensive issues were once again on display in that game as Purdue was able to hand 104 in the 36-point game. Iowa did return home to dispatch Nebraska – the easiest game on the B10 schedule – but that road loss to Purdue is hard to overlook.

Behind the superb play of Luka Garza, Iowa boasts one of the best offenses in the country. In fact, the Hawkeyes own the third-best adjusted offensive efficiency rating so the statistics back up the eye test in this portion of the game. Yet, their inability to consistently get stops against good teams has been a glaring issue all season long that is yet to truly be remedied.

Iowa will likely land a favorable seed in the NCAA Tournament but will not dance for long if it doesn’t improve defensively. If they do find a way to develop quickly on that end of the floor, though, watch out because this offense is flat-out incredible.

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