The Iowa Hawkeyes had themselves an impressive week entering the new year. After taking a loss to Minnesota on Christmas day, Iowa bounced back for a pair of wins over top-25 opponents last week.
That started with a convincing 87-72 win over then #19 and top-ranked Northwestern and was followed up by a gritty if not dominating 77-75 win over Rutgers on Saturday. The thriller against the Scarlet Knights gave the Hawkeyes their first road win of the season and it came over the #14 ranked team in America.
Those two wins, along with a slew of losses in the top-10, propelled Iowa up five spots in the AP poll that was released on Monday.