Ben McCollum has the Iowa Hawkeyes sitting at 16-5 overall with a 6-4 record in Big Ten play. Things are going well for Iowa, but they are still seeking that first marquee win. Iowa has beaten up on the bottom of the Big Ten, but has fallen to Iowa State, Michigan State, Purdue, and Illinois in chances to knock off a ranked opponent.
Nonetheless, the Hawkeyes are currently in the field rather comfortably. In ESPN’s latest bracketology, they are hanging onto a No. 8 seed, the spot they have held for a few weeks. ESPN also looked at a conference-by-conference bubble watch and analyzed Iowa. While they aren’t a lock to make the field quite yet, they are sitting in the driver’s seat right now, controlling their own destiny.
Should be in
Updated: Feb. 2
Iowa’s résumé rankings are all over the place, ranging from the high 40s in KPI to the low 20s in NET, averaging out to 30th nationally. That’s still on the right side of the bubble, with some room to spare. The Hawkeyes bolstered their case with a Quadrant 1A win at Indiana in mid-January and with Sunday’s 18-point victory at Oregon. They’re even better than their résumé ranking gives them credit for, checking in at 22nd in our average of performance ratings, which raises their potential going forward. But their schedule does get more difficult looking ahead, jumping from 70th to 17th nationally from here on out, according to the BPI.
Next game: at Washington (Wednesday) – Neil Paine, ESPN
Not only does Iowa have a winnable game against Washington, but its next two are also a home date against Northwestern and a road trip to Maryland. These three games could get Iowa to 19-5 overall with a 9-4 mark in Big Ten play, which could essentially lock Iowa into the field with seeding to be played for.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball controls destiny in ESPN NCAA Tournament bubble watch