The State of Iowa took center stage on Friday night as Iowa and Iowa State, who are both having excellent seasons so far, squared off for state bragging rights. The Cyclones and the Hawkeyes were seeded on the 5 line and the 7 line, respectively, last week. Going into the game, Iowa had more to gain considering they were going for a road win, and Iowa State needed more help since Iowa will get a boost in strength of schedule since the Big Ten is better than the Big 12 this year. So who came out on top?
Iowa State 85, Iowa 82: The game really lived up to the billing of two excellent teams. Believe it or not, it has been nine years since these two teams were in the tournament at the same time. And you have to go back to 1997 to find an NCAA tournament when both teams won a game in the tournament. These two teams haven't played a game where both were ranked in twenty-six years. But this year could be the year that each of Iowa's top universities get to the Round of 32, or beyond.
If Iowa had won, the question would have been whether Iowa has passed Michigan State as the third-best team in the Big Ten behind Wisconsin and Ohio State. A road loss is never bad, but elite teams find ways to win close games against good teams away from home. Iowa fell apart at the end of the game, though the Hawkeyes are solidly in the top 4 of the Big Ten, this year's best conference.
Iowa State, on the other hand, could be the real deal, a team that sits in the eschelon beneath elite. Oklahoma State and Kansas looked to be the clear top 2 teams in the Big 12 this year, but Iowa State has a chance to surprise people and take on one (or both) of those elite teams. Iowa State remains one of the fourteen unbeaten teams, and you can't count them out until we see when and how they actually lose a game.
A couple other teams were in action, but they took out teams that they needed to:
Memphis 73, AR-Little Rock 59
Colorado 80, Elon 63
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