Iowa Basketball: Hawkeyes Drop in AP Poll After Minnesota Loss

The Iowa Hawkeyes had an up and down week last week. They picked up a win in their first Big Ten game of the season after holding Purdue to their second lowest scoring output all season during a 70-55 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Just a few days later, however, the defense forgot to show up and Iowa dropped their first true road game of the season in a disappointing 102-95 loss at Minnesota.

On Monday, the AP released their updated poll and it fully reflects the impacts of that game in Minneapolis as the Hawkeyes find themselves falling six spots. Minnesota, for their part, was rewarded by entering the top-25 for the first time all season.

Here’s a look at the full poll:

1. Gonzaga (62 first place votes)
2. Baylor (2 first place votes)
3. Kansas
4. Villanova
5. Houston
6. Wisconsin
7. Tennessee
8. Texas
9. West Virginia
10. Iowa
11. Creighton
12. Missouri
13. Texas Tech
14. Rutgers
15. Illinois
16. Michigan
17. Michigan State
18. Florida State
19. Northwestern
20. Duke
21. Minnesota
22. Oregon
23. Virginia
24. Virginia Tech
25. Ohio State

Iowa’s fall of six spots is the second most of any team this week. Only Virginia fell further, dropping from 16th to 23rd after a 23-point loss to Gonzaga. Michigan State was the next closest, falling five spots after a loss to Wisconsin.

In total, nine of the Big Ten’s 14 teams find themselves in the top-25. That’s by far the most of any conference in America. The Big Ten also has a pair of teams in the top-10 with Wisconsin jumping Iowa to the #6 spot this week. The conference owns the middle of the rankings with 14 through 17 all being from the Big Ten (Rutgers, Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State respectively), as well as the #19 Northwestern Wildcats. Minnesota and Ohio State round out the conference’s ranked teams at 21 and 25.

The Big 12 is the next closest conference with five teams ranked in total. They’re much more top-loaded, however, with four teams ranked inside the top-10. Baylor and Kansas continue to lead pack at #2 and #3 while Texas and West Virginia remain in the top-10 for the second straight week. Texas Tech is the lone Big 12 team ranked outside the top-10 at #13.

Iowa will be back in action on Tuesday evening as they play host to #19 Northwestern. That’s an 8pm CT tip on FS1.