Iowa Basketball: Hawkeyes Shrug Off Indiana Loss, Rise in National Polls

The Iowa Hawkeyes dropped another tough road game last week as they fell 89-77 at Indiana on Thursday. More significant perhaps was the loss of freshman guard CJ Fredrick during that game.

The Hawkeyes bounced back, though, and took home a much needed road win at Minnesota on Sunday. It was just the first road win for Iowa in more than a month and it came at the perfect time. As we’ve seen all season, a number of top-25 teams fell last week. Iowa’s road win thus propelled them up in the AP poll and keep them in the top-20 in the Coaches poll.

In the AP, Iowa climbed from #21 a week ago to #20 this week. Here’s a look at the full rankings.

1. Baylor

2. Gonzaga

3. Kansas

4. San Diego State

5. Dayton

6. Duke

7. Maryland

8. Florida State

9. Penn State

10. Kentucky

11. Louisville

12. Villanova

13. Auburn

14. Oregon

15. Creighton

16. Seton Hall

17. West Virginia

18. Colorado

19. Marquette

20. Iowa

21. Butler

22. Houston

23. BYU

24. Arizona

25. Ohio State

In the Coaches Poll, Iowa finally fell after staying unchanged the prior week despite their loss at Purdue. This week, the Hawkeyes dropped from #17 to #20. Here’s a look at the full Coaches Poll.

1. Baylor

2. Gonzaga

3. Kansas

4. San Diego State

5. Dayton

6. Duke

7. Maryland

8. Florida State

9. Penn State

10. Kentucky

11. Louisville

12. Auburn

13. Villanova

14. Seton Hall

15. Creighton

16. Oregon

17. Colorado

18. West Virginia

19. Marquette

20. Iowa

21. Arizona

22. Houston

23. Butler

24. Ohio State

25. Michigan State

This week sees the Big Ten with a pair of top-10 teams as both Maryland and Penn State move up riding their 8-game winning streaks. Michigan State manages to stay in the Coaches Poll despite another home loss. And Ohio State returns to the top-25 for the first time since they dropped out four weeks ago.

The Hawkeyes will play host to the #25 (AP) Buckeyes in this week’s lone game on Thursday evening. The 6pm CT tip will kick off a stretch of three home games out of the next four for Iowa, before the Hawkeyes close out the season at Illinois on Sunday, March 8th.