Despite Iowa basketball (16-5, 6-4 Big Ten) winning its two games this past week over both USC, 73-72, and versus Oregon, 86-65, the Hawkeyes are just outside the top 25 in the USA TODAY Sports Men’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
In the two wins this past week, senior guard Bennett Stirtz continued to be a dominant force for the Hawkeyes, recording a combined 52 points on 18-of-27 shooting from the floor, 6-of-10 from 3-point territory and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line. Stirtz’s sensational week earned him Big Ten Co-Player of the Week honors.
Per the latest poll, the Hawkeyes dropped to the receiving votes category, where they rank highest (52 points) among the group of 10 programs receiving votes.
In terms of Big Ten representation, Michigan leads the group at No. 2, followed by Illinois at No. 6, Nebraska at No. 9, Michigan State at No. 10 and Purdue at No. 12. Iowa is the lone conference member in the receiving votes category.
Iowa will have two opportunities to re-enter the rankings this week, as it visits Washington (12-10, 4-7 Big Ten) on Wednesday, Feb. 4 and hosts Northwestern (10-12, 2-9 Big Ten) on Sunday, Feb. 8. The game against the Huskies is scheduled for a 10 p.m. CT tipoff on Big Ten Network, while the matchup against the Wildcats is set to start at 2 p.m. CT on FS1.
| Rank | Team | Record | PTS | 1st | Prev | Chg | Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arizona | 22-0 | 775 | 31 | 1 | – | 1/13 |
| 2 | Michigan | 20-1 | 728 | 0 | 2 | – | 1/7 |
| 3 | UConn | 21-1 | 715 | 0 | 3 | – | 3/7 |
| 4 | Duke | 20-1 | 692 | 0 | 4 | – | 3/6 |
| 5 | Gonzaga | 22-1 | 625 | 0 | 6 | +1 | 5/20 |
| 6 | Illinois | 19-3 | 599 | 0 | 10 | +4 | 6/19 |
| 7 | Iowa State | 20-2 | 588 | 0 | 9 | +2 | 2/18 |
| 8 | Houston | 19-2 | 586 | 0 | 7 | -1 | 2/8 |
| 9 | Nebraska | 20-2 | 502 | 0 | 5 | -4 | 5/NR |
| 10 | Michigan State | 19-3 | 486 | 0 | 8 | +2 | 8/21 |
| 11 | Kansas | 16-5 | 448 | 0 | 14 | +3 | 11/NR |
| 12 | Purdue | 18-4 | 387 | 0 | 12 | – | 1/12 |
| 13 | Texas Tech | 16-5 | 365 | 0 | 11 | -2 | 11/20 |
| 14 | BYU | 17-4 | 315 | 0 | 13 | -1 | 7/14 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt | 19-3 | 311 | 0 | 15 | – | 8/NR |
| 16 | Florida | 16-6 | 306 | 0 | 21 | +5 | 3/NR |
| 17 | Virginia | 18-3 | 303 | 0 | 17 | – | 15/NR |
| 18 | North Carolina | 17-4 | 280 | 0 | 18 | – | 12/25 |
| 19 | Clemson | 18-4 | 217 | 0 | 19 | – | 18/NR |
| 20 | Saint Louis | 21-1 | 197 | 0 | 22 | +2 | 20/NR |
| 21 | Arkansas | 16-6 | 154 | 0 | 16 | -5 | 14/23 |
| 22 | St. John’s | 16-5 | 132 | 0 | 24 | +2 | 6/NR |
| 23 | Louisville | 15-6 | 72 | 0 | 20 | -3 | 5/23 |
| 24 | Miami (OH) | 22-0 | 68 | 0 | 25 | +1 | 24/NR |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 17-4 | 61 | 0 | NR | +4 | 25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 23 Alabama; No. 25 Iowa;
Others Receiving Votes
Iowa 52; Tennessee 50; UCF 15; Alabama 15; Villanova 13; Kentucky 9; North Carolina State 4; Utah State 2; Georgia 2; Saint Mary’s 1;
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball slips outside USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll