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For those hoping that another last-second Iowa victory would be enough to propel the Hawkeyes to a slight bump in the AP Poll this week, you’ll have to wait until next Monday for another opportunity. In a week where Iowa played just one game against Rutgers, they stayed stagnant at #21 after dropping in the polls the previous week.
POLL ALERT: Duke returns to No. 1 in AP Top 25; Tennessee tumbles from top spot to No. 5 after Kentucky loss. See the full poll: https://t.co/upNUNTCTwG pic.twitter.com/uccSSehXjK
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) February 18, 2019
With a couple of teams ahead of the Hawkeyes losing this past week, Iowa appeared to be a prime candidate to jump at least one or two spots in the polls. However, despite jumping Wisconsin and Kansas State this week, Virginia Tech and Iowa State were able to leapfrog the Hawks, who ultimately lost 10 votes in the poll. It appears as though struggling to put away a bottom-half Big Ten team for the second consecutive week is having an impact on how voters are viewing the Hawks:
Last second wins over Northwestern and Rutgers might not be the best time to be arguing for them https://t.co/GHuQI3QmFM
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) February 18, 2019
Some other teams of note that appear in this week’s Poll: #7 Michigan, #10 Michigan State, #15 Purdue, #19 Iowa State, #22 Wisconsin, and #24 Maryland. The Big Ten stays tied with the ACC atop the leaderboard in ranked teams with six apiece, while the Big 12 has four and SEC has three.
Looking ahead to Iowa’s next couple of games this week, they look to be in good position to move up in the polls if they can notch a couple W’s. The Hawks host #24 Maryland and their high-powered offense on Tuesday, while a sputtering Indiana squad visits Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday. A win over the Terps would give Iowa another much desired Quadrant 1 victory, while Indiana would be another Quadrant 2 victory should they take care of business on Friday.
Just keep winning, baby.