The Hawkeyes are rolling thanks to a heavy focus on the defensive end

Everyone has bought into Ben McCollum's no-nonsense style of play, and it's starting to show up more often on the court.

Iowa was in Seattle for a highly anticipated matchup against the Washington Huskies on February 4. While they continue to frustrate fans by starting slowly, the defensive effort has never been in question.

If you were able to stay up for the super late 10:00 p.m. Central Time tipoff, you might have gone to sleep after Iowa was down 48-41 at halftime.

The Huskies couldn't miss and the Hawkeyes had to comeback once agaon to secure a victory.

Luckily for everyone, Ben McCollum chewed his team out at halftime, leading to a renewed focus on the defensive end.

Iowa's defense continues to hold opponents under season averages

Whatever McCollum said to his team at halftime worked wonders, as they clamped down on the Huskies' offense, with the defense continuing to be a calling card of this Iowa squad.

A unique stat was displayed on the broadcast after Iowa's 84-74 victory over Washington, stating that Iowa is one of only two teams in college basketball to hold every opponent under their season scoring average this season.

The only other team: Northern Iowa.

While offense sells tickets, defense wins championships, and Iowa's defense has been elite so far this season.

Most Iowa fans will tell you that they never saw this kind of defense under former head coach Fran McCaffery, and in under a year's time, the Hawkeyes have gone from below to above average on the defensive end.

While Iowa doesn't force many turnovers, averaging only 14.2 per game, they play excellent team defense and use defensive pressure at the point of attack and deflections to frustrate opponents.

After the win over Washington, the Hawkeyes are now allowing only 63.0 points per game, ranked No. 4 overall in college basketball.

Iowa's elite defense has been the catalyst for its current five-game winning streak, and as the offense becomes more consistent, the Hawkeyes will be hard to deal with.

With the win, Iowa currently sits at 17-5 (7-4 Big Ten), tying last year's win total with over a month remaining in the season.