After statement win, Iowa men’s basketball turns its attention to another ranked opponent

IOWA CITY — The high of a top 10 win will eventually come down. As much as Iowa men’s basketball could relish in defeating No. 9 Nebraska, 57-52, on Tuesday night, there’s another game to play.

This time, it’s a third-straight ranked opponent in No. 24 Wisconsin.

It’s the first time since the 2019-20 season that the Hawkeyes face three consecutive top 25 teams, when Iowa went 2-1 in that stretch against Ohio State, Michigan State and Penn State.

The Hawkeyes split its first two games, both played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. For Sunday afternoon’s game, Iowa travels to Kohl Center in Madison to take on the Badgers.

There’s no reason for that top-10 high to stay lingering in the back of Iowa’s minds.

“At this point in the season, if you get too high and low, we probably haven't done a great job of teaching you,” Iowa head coach Ben McCollum said. “We create an atmosphere that does celebrate those things, particularly from a fan's perspective, more so than a player perspective.”

Wisconsin’s lost just two home games this year, upsetting teams like Michigan and Illinois. The Badgers have also won nine of their last 12 games, but they most recently fell to Ohio State in Columbus on Tuesday.

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The Badgers heavily rely on their two bigs to pace their offense. Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, a duo averaging 39.1 points per game, are among the top scorers in the Big Ten. They shoot a combined 82.7 percent from the floor, as well.

Wisconsin’s biggest strength has been its ability to string lengthy runs together, particularly through those two. The Badgers also rely a lot on Nolan Winter, who averages 13.6 points per game and leads the team in blocks.

“They get so downhill, they just live in the paint. And those bigs really shoot it,” McCollum said. “Their just really good offensively. They can beat you in so many different ways.”

Iowa has held every opponent except one, its loss at Maryland, under its opponents scoring average in every game.

The Hawkeyes’ signature win over the Cornhuskers put eyes right back on the team. Another ranked win could further cement a step forward in McCollum’s retooling of the program.

The head coach is now tied for the second-best first-year season in Hawkeye history, joining Bucky O’Connor’s debut in 1951-52. He’s had to learn a lot adjusting from a mid-major program to a Big Ten team, and McCollum’s quickly found ways to handle those changes.

“I've said before, I think it's just the level of players is just a little bit different from one through eight,” He said. “I mean, it's just there's so many good players at these levels.”

One thing McCollum already knew comes to fruition Sunday afternoon: a statement win has to be backed up in the following performance.

“We talk about it constantly, making sure that we're pretty process focused,” McCollum said. “I think for the guys, it was nice for them to be able to see what they can build eventually. But for me, beating Nebraska is very similar to beating anybody else.”

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