Northern Iowa Cracks The AP Top 10 For The First Time In School History
Des Moines Register- With a No. 10 ranking in this week’s Associated Press poll, the Northern Iowa men’s basketball team filled a void. The Panthers (26-2) are no longer the only in-state Division I school to never appear in the top 10. “Another line in the sand,” coach Ben Jacobson said of the accomplishment. “Getting in the top 25 was a big deal when we did it. Being ranked this long has been great, I’m really proud of the guys for it. “The top 10 is the top 10. It’s a pretty awesome deal.” Iowa State (20-6) is up to No. 12. The Cyclones have broken into the top 10 the last two years, peaking at No. 8 in 2013-14 and reaching No. 9 twice this season. Iowa spent a week at No. 10 last season. Drake last climbed into the top 10 during the 1970-71 season. The Panthers, who transitioned to NCAA Division I in the 1980s, have spent 10 weeks in the poll, the most for any single season in school history. Northern Iowa will share the national spotlight Saturday at 11th-ranked Wichita State, in a 1 p.m. showdown on ESPN. Wichita also will be the host site for ESPN’s “College GameDay” program Saturday morning.
What the hell is going on around here? Northern Iowa quietly going about its business and being the best basketball team in the state of Iowa. It’s seriously impressive. All the talk is about Iowa State and dreamy Fred Hoiberg and all of the work he’s put in to make the Cyclones a consistent contender by way of transfers. Or it’s been about Iowa and how Adam Woodbury is the devil and Dan Dakich and how Fran is a bully to the media. Meanwhile, UNI head coach Ben Jacobsen and the Panthers have quietly won 26 games and slowly risen to one of the top 10 best basketball teams in the nation. It’s incredible. The best part? I can actually enjoy it. I hope Iowa State gets knocked out in the first round of the tournament and I’m stressed about that. I hope Iowa just gets into the tournament and I’m stressed about that. UNI? I can hope they win the whole damn thing and I’m not stressed about it at all. They’re the little engine that could. I’m actively rooting for them. After Iowa dropped consecutive losses to Minnesota and Northwestern (then bounced back with blow outs of Rutgers and Nebraska) it’d be easy to hitch my wagon to UNI. And I partially have. I have one foot on the UNI bandwagon as of now. Come tournament time, there’s a good chance I’ll be driving the bandwagon. All aboard!
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PS- Iowa State ranked #12 in this week’s poll. Iowa…..unranked. Still pretty awesome having two Iowa teams in the top 12 in the country.