IOWA HOOPS MOVES TO #18 IN COACHES POLL, #20 IN AP POLL

Iowa finally stopped their four-game losing streak with a 71-61 win over Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday, but that win wasn't enough to arrest their decline in the AP and Coaches Polls -- Iowa fell from #15 in the Coaches Poll to #18 this week, and from #16 in the AP Poll to #20 this week.  Well, Iowa did lose at home to an undisputed Big Ten champion Indiana team earlier this week, so that was probably a pretty bad loss.  Oh, wait.

Of course, we've also hit the point of the season when the importance of polls might be at its lowest ebb -- we're all consumed with thoughts of RPI ratings, KenPom rankings, and potential seeds in mock brackets at this point. Speaking of those ratings:

NCAA selection committee looking at six ratings when evaluating Iowa: LRMC (15), Sagarin (16), KenPom (17), KPI (19), BPI (19), RPI (24).

— Chad Leistikow (@ChadLeistikow) March 7, 2016

The polls can be useful earlier in the season for providing a snapshot of which teams are good and which teams matter, but they aren't going to impact Iowa's seed in the NCAA Tournament.  It's nice to still be ranked, of course, and barring a total wipeout in the Big Ten Tournament this week (no whammies no whammies no whammies no wha), they should be ranked in the final set of rankings next week.  Iowa hasn't been ranked in the year's final set of rankings since the end of the 2006 season, when they finished 15th after winning the Big Ten Tournament.

So, yes, Iowa's still ranked in the Coaches and AP Polls this week, which is nice.  But tournament season is upon us and the only people we really care about Iowa impressing right now are the people on the NCAA Selection Committee who will be determining Iowa's NCAA Tournament seed and destination this weekend.