24. Iowa (19-7)
The first season for Ben McCollum at Iowa has had both positives and negatives throughout the year. We’ve had these Hawkeyes in our rankings before and seen them give great fights in close losses to Illinois and Iowa State. Unfortunately, they’ve had some struggles, including a rough showing against Purdue last week. However, the Hawkeyes found an impressive way to bounce back this week, again leaning on that strong defensive play.
Iowa nabbed a Top 10 win back on Tuesday night, delivering in a 57-52 win over Nebraska. In what was clearly a defensive struggle, the Hawkeyes somehow found enough to limit the Cornhuskers despite some rough shooting numbers. Regardless, Bennett Stirtz continued another sensational season with a 25-point performance as the Hawkeyes grabbed a premier win.
This Iowa team has taken a few losses that they certainly regret and they could absolutely be better than 9-6 in the Big Ten right now. Those learning moments have led them to this position and certainly helped inspire that showing against a very solid Nebraska squad. They clearly want to make a good impression in the waning moments of the regular season, though a busy upcoming week includes a trip to Wisconsin and a home date against a hungry Ohio State team.