Yes I Love Bracketology
Losses by Oklahoma and Kansas earlier this week have moved Iowa to number 2 in the Kenpom rankings entering tonight's game against Rutgers. And while the Hawkeyes aren't yet that high in most bracket projections, it's getting close:
Joe Lunardi (ESPN): 2 seed in Des Moines as of Monday
Jerry Palm (CBS): 2 seed in Des Moines as of Wednesday
Stewart Mandel (Fox Sports): 2 seed in Des Moines as of Tuesday
Chris Dobbertean (SB Nation): 2 seed in Des Moines as of Tuesday
Bracket Matrix: The second 2 seed as of Tuesday
Palm's RPI tracker has Iowa at No. 8, though that could drop with Michigan State's Wednesday loss to Nebraska. There hasn't been a bracket released since Monday, at least according to Bracket Matrix's 53 monitored published brackets, that has Iowa below the two line. It's far too early to count on Des Moines, but at least it now looks plausible barring a collapse.
But Not as Much as Uhl, Uhl See
After some initial difficulty adjusting to his role in the post, Dominic Uhl is having a good sophomore season. And while Jarrod Uthoff is most obviously plagiarizing from Dirk Nowitzki, Iowa's resident German isn't that far off.
But while we all remember that the Uhl Tide rolled in from Deutschland, we forget that the Uhl Tide rolled into the Jersey Shore before it came to Iowa. And tonight, it returns:
Iowa sophomore Dom Uhl's marksmanship might shock folks in the Big Ten, but it's no surprise to his former basketball coach at Point Pleasant Beach High School.
"Dom worked extremely hard on his perimeter game in high school," Nick Catania said. "Because of his explosive first step, we made it a point to work on his ball handling, perimeter footwork and perimeter shooting. To Dom's credit, he attacked every workout."
Uhl moved to New Jersey before his junior year in the hopes of making enough noise to get a college basketball scholarship. Now he's looking like the favorite to play center for Iowa in 2016 and a near-certain starter on that team, with ample room to grow.
But Still I Love Technology (Research Funding)
Another round of Big Ten expansion rumors earlier this week centered on Oklahoma and Kansas, with some reporting that Oklahoma has a standing offer to jump. Berry Tremel from NewsOK gets a former Oklahoma professor to say why that is unlikely:
OU is unlikely to become an AAU member, as it would have to at least double its current annual research expenditures from nationally competitive grants and currently has no National Academy of Sciences members (most AAU members have at least 10 NAS members and many have significantly more (none has fewer than five NAS members). That kind of change would require at least a decade to accomplish before being considered for AAU (which then has further political barriers to admission).
No university has been extended Big Ten membership without being an AAU member (Nebraska was an AAU member when it joined the Big Ten, then lost its membership soon after). Those that have argued that Nebraska's inclusion in the conference opened the door to a non-AAU school receiving membership likely didn't realize just how far Oklahoma is from membership.
Anyone who discounts the academic factor in Big Ten expansion is ignoring the voting process and the dual tracks of Big Ten membership. Yes, it is an athletic conference, but Big Ten schools are also members of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, which collaborates to direct tens of billions of dollars in research funds going to Big Ten member schools (and former member University of Chicago). The school presidents, who focus on things like this, are the ones making the decision on realignment votes, and they could well decide not to drag Oklahoma's small research budget and staff along just to get Bob Stoops.
Other Stuff
Terry Steiner is bringing the USA women's wrestling team to Iowa City, with wrestle-offs before Iowa faces Purdue on Friday night. Don't get us wrong: We're happy they're here. It's just that the chances of hilarity would increase exponentially if Scott Steiner was coaching the team instead:
Texas brought in more than $180 million in revenue for athletics last year, but made less than $500,000. Friend of the Pants Andy Schwarz explains briefly why this makes no sense. The long and short: These are nonprofit companies, so the money gets spent -- at least on the income statement -- in new and increasingly creative ways.
The A.J. Epenesa commitment is huge, but is it a one-off or the beginning of a new upward trend in Iowa's recruiting success?
The only thing better than Heavens Hawkeyes' new gif post is that the co-star of said gif, Sherman Dillard, retweeted it:
When you're undefeated in the #bigten and ranked in the top ten. #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/7kPSPvXUXY
— Heavens! (@HeavensHawkeye) January 18, 2016