25. Iowa (17-5)
Ben McCollum arrived back home in Iowa City this past offseason and has already made an impact with these Hawkeyes. Nobody expected Iowa to become a national contender right off the bat, but they’re still exceeding some expectations with their play already. They did run into a tough stretch with three straight losses back in January, but the Hawkeyes have looked great in recent weeks, including a road win at Indiana.
We saw them take care of business on the road back on Sunday, getting an 84-66 win at Oregon. Bennett Stirtz put together his latest brilliant showing with 32 points and 7 assists while Alvaro Folgueiras added 15 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. The western road trip ended successfully on Wednesday despite a halftime deficit, as the Hawkeyes rallied for an 84-74 win at Washington. Stirtz had 22 points while Folgueiras added 16 points versus those Huskies.
Iowa has now pulled off five wins in a row, though McCollum would love to see this team put a great performance together against one of the Big Ten’s top teams. Still, the Hawkeyes are 7-4 and have one of the league’s best pieces in Stirtz. The Hawkeyes are trending towards a great season and have very winnable games coming up before a big test against Purdue on Saturday.