Iowa basketball cracks top 20 in AP Top 25 rankings

Following Iowa basketball’s (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten) wins over both UMass-Lowell (6-10, 1-0 America East) and UCLA (10-4, 2-1 Big Ten) in the past week, the Hawkeyes continue to rise in the latest AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll, released on Monday, Jan. 5.

The Hawkeyes routed the River Hawks by a score of 90-62 on Dec. 29 behind a stellar all-around effort, led by senior Bennett Stirtz’s 22 points. Iowa then resumed Big Ten play on Saturday, Jan. 3, claiming a Quadrant 2 win over UCLA, 74-61. It was once again fueled by Stirtz’s 27 points in front of a raucous Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd.

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With Iowa’s impressive play since the last AP top 25 poll was released on Dec. 22, the collection of AP poll voters lifted the Hawkeyes six spots to No. 19 in the newest rankings.

In terms of the Big Ten’s presence in the poll, Michigan remains at No. 2, but trails top-ranked Arizona by just one point. The Wolverines earned 29 first-place votes.

Along with Iowa, Michigan is joined by fellow Big Ten squads in No. 5 Purdue, No. 10 Nebraska, No. 12 Michigan State, and No. 16 Illinois. USC, Indiana, and UCLA round out the Big Ten representation are receiving votes.

Here’s a look at the complete Jan. 5 AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll:

Rank

Team

Record

PTS

1st

Prev

Chg

1

Arizona

14-0

1494

32

1

–

2

Michigan

13-0

1493

29

2

–

3

Iowa State

14-0

1390

0

3

–

4

UConn

14-1

1343

0

4

–

5

Purdue

13-1

1254

0

5

–

6

Duke

13-1

1206

0

6

–

7

Houston

13-1

1113

0

8

+1

8

Gonzaga

16-1

1101

0

7

-1

9

BYU

13-1

1039

0

10

+1

10

Nebraska

14-0

998

0

13

+3

11

Vanderbilt

14-0

936

0

11

–

12

Michigan State

12-2

834

0

9

-3

13

Alabama

11-3

782

0

14

+1

14

Texas Tech

11-3

676

0

15

+1

15

Arkansas

11-3

659

0

18

+3

16

Illinois

11-3

602

0

20

+4

17

North Carolina

13-2

557

0

12

-5

18

Georgia

13-1

378

0

23

+5

19

Iowa

12-2

340

0

25

+6

20

Louisville

11-3

336

0

16

-4

21

Tennessee

10-4

277

0

19

-2

22

Kansas

10-4

208

0

17

-5

23

Virginia

12-2

183

0

21

-2

24

SMU

12-2

142

0

NR

–

25

UCF

12-1

132

0

NR

+16

Others Receiving Votes

Villanova 127; Seton Hall 31; USC 28; Utah State 27; Miami (OH) 22; Clemson 21; LSU 14; Saint Louis 14; Texas 12; Florida 11; Saint Mary’s 10; Kentucky 9; California 8; Miami (FL) 5; Indiana…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/iowa-basketball-cracks-top-20-211028532.html

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Publish date : 2026-01-05 21:10:00

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