I’m back after an interesting couple of weeks of Iowa basketball. First off the Hawks went 0-2 vs. in-state rivals Northern Iowa and Iowa State thanks to two poor second half performances. But the Hawkeyes bounced back with a win versus North Florida and a big conference win in Columbus against then 20th ranked Ohio State. The Hawkeyes also had an interesting week last week with two home games versus Nebraska and Michigan State. Iowa won against Nebraska thanks to Gabriel Olaseni’s career high 18 points along with 5 rebounds. Aaron White also had a big game recording 23 points 9 rebounds 2 steals and 2 blocks. But the hawks once again had a poor second half against MSU. The Hawks scored only 22 points in the second half and lost by 14 despite having an 11 point lead at the half. This week the Hawks play in minneapolis against Minnesota who is 0-4 in conference and 11-6 overall. They then come back to I.C. to face off against Ohio State again.

It’s about halfway through the college basketball season and I haven’t done a top 10 yet so here we go.

1. Virginia: The Cavaliers are a great defensive team and if they keep doing what they’re doing they will be the number one seed overall for the “Big Dance”
2. Kentucky: A very athletic and once again, young Wildcats team is number two in my book because of the close games they’ve been in the last couple of games, both against mediocre at best teams. This is a Kentucky team that might not go very far in the Tourny.
3. Gonzaga: as surprising as it may be they survived this past week and are looking as good as anyone else. Odds are they won’t be at this spot for long but if they keep doing what they’re doing they could be a one seed when it comes to Selection Sunday.
4. Duke: A good team lead by Freshman Jahlil Okafor hit a speedbump against NC State losing by 12. They will be back in one of the top spots by the time March comes around.
5. Villanova: The Big East has been surprisingly good this year and we’ll see if this ‘Nova team can be as successful as they were last year.
6. Utah: One word to describe the Utes this season. Wow. They’re only 2 losses have come against ranked opponents and have been by a combined 7 points and they have blown teams out particularly against UCLA who is good enough to get back into NCAA Tournament.
7. Louisville: Montrezl Harrell has dominated for the Cardinals and despite a loss this week to North Carolina they’re only other loss came against number 1 Kentucky.
8. Wisconsin: A loss to Duke is really the only reason they’re not out of the top 10. A bad loss at Rutgers, who is not a great team, really drops them. Also welcome to the B1G Scarlet Knights.
9. Kansas: So far the J-Hawks are the best team in the Big 12 and are playing very well. They’re only 2 losses came against 1st ranked Kentucky and Temple, both blowouts which could be concerning for Kansas.
10. Arizona: The Wildcats came out of upset Sunday with the “best” loss by 2 against Oregon State. They also beat Gonzaga which is not an easy thing to do, especially this season.

Alright let’s get back to the Hawkeyes. Tonight the Hawks travel to Minneapolis to play the Golden Gophers. Minnesota is looking for their first B1G win of the season and their 12th overall. The Gophers are a very high powered offense ranking 20th in points per game (78.5), fourth in assists per game (18.1), and 37th in field goal percentage (47.7%). Meanwhile the Hawks are still doing great defensively but their offense is also gotten a lot better. I believe that the Hawks will pull out a close W and Minnesota will be left asking questions after the 0-5 start.
Another big conference game for the Hawkeyes comes Saturday when football national champions Ohio State come to town. Iowa won at Ohio State 71-65 on December 30th and had one of the best shooting games of the season. They shot 46% and had a big boost from Jarrod Uthoff who had 18 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and a block. He and Aaron White must have big games tonight and Saturday as starters but Gabriel Olaseni must continue to be a presence coming off the bench. I believe the Hawks will pull out a win in another close game and maybe finally start to get the ball rolling on the way to the B1G Conference Championship.