Gesell's Big Ten honor was fully deserved

Just as you can't win in football without a good quarterback, you can't prosper in college basketball without a good point guard.

Iowa senior Mike Gesell has been just that this season, and was deserving of his Big Ten Player of the Week award after his 22-point, 10-assist display in the Hawkeyes' 77-66 win over Nebraska last Tuesday.

Gesell had 19 points and 7 assists in the second half alone. That's a half, folks.

In three Big Ten games, all wins that include triumphs over then-No. 1 Michigan State and then-No. 14 Purdue, he has averaged 18 points and 6.7 assists. He is shooting 63.6 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line in those games, and made 11 fouls shots against both Michigan State and Nebraska.

Gesell has 20 assists to just 5 turnovers in Big Ten play. That works.

I hate 'told you so' guys. But sometimes we are what we hate. I told you Iowa was undervalued going into this season. Having Gesell, Jarrod Uthoff, Adam Woodbury and Anthony Clemmons as seasoned seniors was something that gave the Hawkeyes a chance to be very good.

Seth Davis of CBS and Sports Illustrated has Iowa No. 8 in his latest personal Top 25.

1. KU 2. Okl 3. Md 4. UNC 5. Mich St 6. Nova 7. Xav 8. Iowa 9. Miami 10. SMU 11. Duke 12. West Va 13. Tex A&M 14. South Car 15. ProvidenceJanuary 11, 2016

1. KU 2. Okl 3. Md 4. UNC 5. Mich St 6. Nova 7. Xav 8. Iowa 9. Miami 10. SMU 11. Duke 12. West Va 13. Tex A&M 14. South Car 15. Providence

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops)

The Hawkeyes play at Michigan State Thursday night. That will be tough duty now that Denzel Valentine is back for the Spartans.

Iowa has an 18-game losing streak in East Lansing, and hasn't come closer than 10 points since at the Breslin Center in its last three trips.

But if nothing else, this Hawkeyes team did beat MSU in Iowa City on Dec. 29, snapping a 9-game losing streak to the Spartans. So all streaks have to end sometime.