Big Ten Basketball power rankings: Illinois free falls, Rutgers soars up

9. Iowa Hawkeyes – 9-6 (1-3)

If we were ranking Big Ten Basketball teams via momentum, Iowa had a great case to be dead last. Before Thursday, the team had lost three straight games, including at home versus Eastern Illinois when they were 30+ point favorites. The Hawkeyes then lost on the road at Nebraska by 16 points, and then at Penn State last weekend, 83-79.

Kris Murray had 32 points and nine rebounds while playing all 40 minutes, while Tony Perkins chipped in with 17. But the defensive issues and inconsistent three-point shooting have been rearing their head as of late and it nearly did the same thing to start Thursday’s matchup with Indiana, trailing by as much as 21 points in the first half.

But unlike the previous three Big Ten games, Iowa refused to stay down and made the third-largest comeback in program history. They won the high-scoring matchup, 91-89, led by 30 points and 10 rebounds from Murray. Forward Filip Rebraca had 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Connor McCaffery chipped in with 16.

One player that didn’t play was Patrick McCaffery, who has taken a leave of absence to take care of his mental health. We wish him the best and hope that he can return with a good mind for a team that has shown signs of life in the last 30 minutes of the game. The Hawkeyes go on the road to take on Rutgers, which should be a nice clash of strengths in offense vs defense.