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As of Wednesday, confidence in Iowa basketball remained high, above 95 percent.
SB Nation’s voting revealed 96 percent of fans have confidence in the Hawkeyes, just a one percent decline from last week’s results — nothing too crazy.
The voting took place before the win over Ohio State — so, the results included the Indiana and Minnesota games.
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The Indiana loss was not great, to say the least. CJ Fredrick’s injury was a dark spot in a downright dreadful day.
However, the resiliency displayed by Iowa in the following game was sensational. In the Hawkeyes’ win over the Gophers, Iowa went on an 11-0 run to close out the game. It was a big-time statement for a program that had lost its third starter to injury this season.
Thankfully, Fredrick’s injury isn’t as bad as it appeared, as Fran McCaffery tabbed his process day-to-day. I would not be surprised if next week’s poll conveyed an increase in confidence, given the fact that Iowa pulled off the win over Ohio State in Fredrick’s absence.
Aside from asking about your confidence in the Hawkeyes, SB Nation asked for your input on Player of the Year candidates and which team is the best in the Big Ten.
For player of the year, Luka Garza (rightfully) made the cut, but he’s in second place (in terms of this poll), sitting behind Dayton’s Obi Toppin.
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Listen, Toppin is having a great year, but this is Garza’s award to lose. Udoka Azubuike of Kansas rounded out the players listed, but finished fourth behind “other.”
Here are the results for which team is the best in the Big Ten:
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Maryland took most of the votes, and rightfully so. Penn State ranks second, Michigan State ranks third, and... Michigan (???) comes in at fourth.
Where is Iowa in this mix? I think the top two are correct, but I’d say there’s a case to be made for Iowa being ahead of Michigan State, and definitely over Michigan. The Wolverines are finally stringing together some wins, but in no way are they they in the mix for being one of the best teams in the conference.