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Iowa basketball: Big Ten looks strong heading into conference play

By Andrew Wade

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Connor McCaffery #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts in the second half against the Connecticut Huskies during the championship game of the 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 16: Connor McCaffery #30 of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts in the second half against the Connecticut Huskies during the championship game of the 2K Empire Classic at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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After a month of the college basketball season, the Iowa basketball team is ranked #14. They aren’t the only Big Ten team off to a hot start though.

While the men’s Iowa basketball team may be one of the more surprising Big Ten teams this season, there are a number of Big Ten teams performing very well to begin the season. In fact, the Big Ten currently has seven teams in the AP Poll’s top 25. Meanwhile, an additional three teams (Nebraska, Minnesota, and Indiana) are getting votes for the top 25.

Doing the match, that’s an astounding ten teams out of the Big Ten’s 14 team conference that are within spitting distance of the top 25. That being said, it is still early and these rankings are likely to change as the Big Ten is set to begin their grueling Big Ten Conference schedule starting Friday, November 30. Regardless though, it’s incredible the jump the Big Ten has made in just four short weeks of college basketball.

At the beginning of the season, only three teams were ranked in the top 25 (Michigan, Michigan State, and Purdue) with four teams receiving votes for inclusion (Wisconsin, Indiana, Nebraska, Maryland). That, however, was before the Big Ten starting tearing through their non-conference schedules. Here’s a break down of the jumps starting with our beloved Iowa basketball team:

  • Iowa Hawkeyes (Preseason: NR; Current: #14)
  • Wisconsin Badgers (Preseason: NR; Current: #22)
    • Wisconsin’s lone loss came to #4 Virginia by seven points.
  • Maryland Terrapins (Preseason: NR; Current: #24)
    • The Terps are currently sitting at 6-0.
  • Ohio State Buckeyes (Preseason: NR; Current: #16)
    • Ohio State is currently sitting at 6-0.
  • Michigan Wolverines (Preseason: #19; Current: #7)
    • Michigan beat #8 Villanova by nearly 30 points.
  • Michigan State Spartans (Preseason: #10; Current: #9)
    • The Spartans first loss came to #2 Kansas by five points, but they beat #17 UCLA by twenty points.
  • Purdue Boilermakers (Preseason: #24; Current: #19)
    • Purdue’s lone loss came to #16 Virginia Tech.

Other notable Big Ten wins include Indiana knocking off #24 Marquette and Penn State knocking off #13 Virginia Tech.

Looking at the entire conference, the combined losses for every single team is 17, just three more than the number of total teams. Pretty impressive considering seven of those losses have come from Penn State and Illinois.

The strong start for the Big Ten is mostly good, but there is some downside. This many talented teams will potentially cannibalize each other’s wins. Every game will be a tough game which can take its toll on teams, but it can also leave them battle tested heading into the tournament. Furthermore, if the Big Ten is getting this much recognition early in the season, it’s likely the tournament committee will favor a bubble Big Ten team over other conferences.

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With the Iowa basketball team off to a good start, continuing the strong play during conference play will look great to the committee in March.