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Welcome to POLLWATCHIN', where we watch polls. Let's get to the polls we're watchin while watchin' polls.
AP Top 25
Iowa rose one spot in the AP Top 25 this week, finishing at 16th after splitting home games with Ohio State and Michigan. The Hawkeyes are one spot behind Michigan, and ranked third in the Big Ten (behind Michigan and No. 9 MSU). Wisconsin reenters the poll at No. 21 after a win over Sparty Sunday, while Ohio State also gets back into the Top 25.
As for other former opponents, Villanova is rated sixth, while Iowa State jumped five spots to No. 11. All six teams that have defeated Iowa this season are ranked in the AP Poll.
| Rank | Team | Record | Pts | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syracuse Orange (65) | 23-0 | 1625 | 1 |
| 2 | Arizona Wildcats | 23-1 | 1525 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida Gators | 21-2 | 1477 | 3 |
| 4 | Wichita St. Shockers | 25-0 | 1445 | 4 |
| 5 | San Diego St. Aztecs | 21-1 | 1373 | 5 |
| 6 | Villanova Wildcats | 21-2 | 1288 | 6 |
| 7 | Kansas Jayhawks | 18-5 | 1234 | 8 |
| 8 | Duke Blue Devils | 19-5 | 1130 | 11 |
| 9 | Michigan St. Spartans | 20-4 | 1025 | 9 |
| 10 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 22-3 | 970 | 7 |
| 11 | Iowa St. Cyclones | 18-4 | 925 | 16 |
| 12 | Saint Louis Billikens | 22-2 | 908 | 13 |
| 13 | Louisville Cardinals | 19-4 | 866 | 14 |
| 14 | Kentucky Wildcats | 18-5 | 769 | 18 |
| 15 | Michigan Wolverines | 17-6 | 702 | 10 |
| 16 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 18-6 | 686 | 17 |
| 17 | Virginia Cavaliers | 19-5 | 608 | 20 |
| 18 | Creighton Bluejays | 19-4 | 552 | 12 |
| 19 | Texas Longhorns | 18-5 | 417 | 15 |
| 20 | Memphis Tigers | 18-5 | 333 | 24 |
| 21 | Wisconsin Badgers | 19-5 | 242 | 26 |
| 22 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | 19-5 | 214 | 27 |
| 23 | SMU Mustangs | 19-5 | 205 | 29 |
| 24 | Connecticut Huskies | 18-5 | 194 | 22 |
| 25 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 20-4 | 175 | 25 |
Coaches Poll
The Hawkeyes have consistently been rated higher by the coaches this season, but that advantage is slipping. Iowa actually fell two spots in this week's Coaches Poll, landing at No. 15. Saint Louis, Kentucky, and Iowa State all passed the Hawkeyes, while Creighton's loss to St. John's sent them plummeting down the rankings.
Ohio State and Wisconsin moved up the poll, finishing at No. 20 and 21, respectively. Michigan slid two spots after the loss in Carver Hawkeye Saturday.
| Rank | Team | Record | Pts | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Syracuse Orange (32) | 23-0 | 800 | 1 |
| 2 | Wichita St. Shockers | 25-0 | 744 | 2 |
| 3 | Arizona Wildcats | 23-1 | 742 | 3 |
| 4 | Florida Gators | 21-2 | 711 | 4 |
| 5 | San Diego St. Aztecs | 21-1 | 675 | 5 |
| 6 | Villanova Wildcats | 21-2 | 629 | 6 |
| 7 | Kansas Jayhawks | 18-5 | 569 | 9 |
| 8 | Louisville Cardinals | 19-4 | 529 | 10 |
| 9 | Duke Blue Devils | 19-5 | 511 | 11 |
| 10 | Michigan St. Spartans | 20-4 | 479 | 8 |
| 11 | Cincinnati Bearcats | 22-3 | 467 | 7 |
| 12 | Saint Louis Billikens | 22-2 | 427 | 15 |
| 13 | Kentucky Wildcats | 18-5 | 403 | 14 |
| 14 | Iowa St. Cyclones | 18-4 | 369 | 17 |
| 15 | Iowa Hawkeyes | 18-6 | 333 | 13 |
| 16 | Virginia Cavaliers | 19-5 | 310 | 21 |
| 17 | Creighton Bluejays | 19-4 | 305 | 12 |
| 18 | Michigan Wolverines | 17-6 | 254 | 16 |
| 19 | Texas Longhorns | 18-5 | 170 | 18 |
| 20 | Ohio St. Buckeyes | 19-5 | 162 | 25 |
| 21 | Wisconsin Badgers | 19-5 | 158 | 24 |
| 22 | Memphis Tigers | 18-5 | 152 | NR |
| 23 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 20-4 | 148 | 22 |
| 24 | Gonzaga Bulldogs | 21-4 | 78 | 20 |
| 25 | Oklahoma Sooners | 18-6 | 55 | 23 |
Brackets!
It's finally the time of year when we can seriously start talking about brackets and the certified bracketologists who make them. Chief among these well-learned tournament enthusiasts is ESPN's Joe Lunardi (almost perfect since the last millenium!), who released an updated bracket Monday morning that had Iowa as a No. 5 seed. Obviously, matchups are wholly irrelevant, but for those who really like to speculate, he has Iowa playing the winner of the Missouri-Providence play-in game, with Cincinnati playing Green Bay in the 4/13 game. If only Iowa could have played Green Bay last year; if you lived in Sioux City, your newspaper would be delivered to your door literally on fire.
CBS Sports bracketologist Jerry "The Face" Palm also put Iowa on a No. 5 line as of Monday (warning: autoplay commercials on that link, because CBS wants you to get reprimanded by your boss). Palm has the Hawkeyes playing Southern Miss, which blatantly stole our logo. We're here to take it back, you bastards. Something called College Sports Madness also has Iowa playing Southern Miss in a 5/12 game (as of Sunday). They're on our good side this week for naming Roy Devyn Marble and Samantha Logic as Big Ten Players of the Week Monday.
NBC Sports is getting into the brackets game, apparently. The Peacock also puts Iowa on the No. 5 line after the weekend, with the Hawkeyes facing the winner of the Georgetown-LSU play-in game. This sets up the distinct possibility of an Outback Bowl rematch, because NBC is known to be pro-coconut shrimp.
USA Today has Iowa on the No. 5 line (there's a pattern developing) against Toledo. Oh-me-oh! Oh-my-oh! To-le-do! MAC basketball! I don't think that's how the phrase goes. Cincinnati and Delaware are on the opposite side of the bracket, making Iowa the most appealing place to live in its entire subregional.
SB Nation's Chris Dobbertean released his last update on Friday, before Iowa has summarily disposed of Michigan, but he had Iowa as a No. 4 seed even without that win. Dobber has the Hawkeyes playing Canisius, setting up a MAAC grudge match between the Golden Griffins and former Siena coach Fran O'Mac. Did you think that Canisius just played Iona 30 times a year? It's OK, so did we.
