After a dominant 94-39 victory over Bucknell (3-9) from Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa, last Saturday, how did Iowa basketball (10-2, 1-1 Big Ten) fare in the latest update to the NET rankings?
While the Hawkeyes‘ depth scoring certainly showed up against the Bison, Iowa’s defense was the star of the show. Iowa held Bucknell to just 39 points off of only 37% shooting from the field, won the rebounding battle 36-16, and forced an astounding 25 turnovers (19 steals and six blocks), and five different players had multiple steals on the night.
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According to the latest NET rankings, Iowa has risen seven spots to No. 12, thanks in large part to the sensational defensive efforts shown on Saturday. This ranking falls behind fellow Big Ten foes, including No. 1 Michigan, No. 7 Purdue, No. 10 Illinois, and No. 11 Nebraska.
So far, the Ben McCollum-led team is 6-0 against Quad 4 programs, 2-0 against Quad 3, 2-0 against Quad 2, but 0-2 when facing Quad 1 opponents. Those two Quad 1 losses were against Michigan State and Iowa State, both on the road.
The Hawkeyes will look to rise even further when the program closes out the 2025 calendar year on Dec. 27 against UMass-Lowell (5-9) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: How did Iowa basketball fare in latest NET rankings?
