Men's BB: Iowa's 2-5 Big Ten Record is Better Than It Looks

TWO WINS IS GOOD? Well, in the context I am about to present, it is.

A losing record is never a good thing, no matter how you spin it. However, Iowa is 2-5 in conference, which is exactly where I had them 7 deep into the conference schedule. Why is this a good thing? Clearly, almost anyone paying attention to NCAA basketball would come to the conclusion that the Iowa Hawkeyes were coming into the season as a team destined to finish towards the bottom of the Big Ten (personally, I saw them around the 7th spot). The reason Iowa's 2-5 Big Ten start isn't all that bad is because of the quality of opponents Iowa has faced through the first 7 games.

First, let's look at the Big Ten RPI Rankings (conference only):

Big Ten RPI	Team
1	Wisconsin
2	Indiana
3	Purdue
4	Michigan State
5	Ohio State
6	Minnesota
7	Penn State
8	Iowa
9	Illinois
10	Michigan
11	Northwestern

(RPI ranked as of today)

Second, let's calculate the SOS of each Big Ten team (conference only):

	UW	IU	PU	MSU	OSU	MN	PSU	IA	IL	UM	NW
RPI of	10	8	10	6	9	4	11	2	5	1	7
Teams	8	10	4	3	11	11	9	1	7	3	5
Played	9	9	5	8	8	7	6	5	1	2	6
in the	7	6	8	5	3	2	1	4	2	11	10
Big Ten	11	7	9	6	4	4	2	3	10	9	1
So Far	10	8	7		9		3	10	3	8
(BT Only)								2	5	1
Total RPI	55	48	43	28	44	28	32	25	28	34	29
SOS	9.17	8	7.17	5.6	7.333	5.6	5.33	3.6	4	4.86	5.8
SOS Rank	11	10	8	5	9	5	4	1	2	3	7

Finally, let's list out the ranking:

Big Ten SOS	Team
1	Iowa
2	Illinois
3	Michigan
4	Penn St
5	Michigan St
5	Michigan
7	Northwestern
8	Purdue
9	Ohio St
10	Indiana
11	Wisconsin

While it's true you can't play yourself (hurting the Top teams' SOS), Wisconsin has yet to play anyone in the Top 6 of the Big Ten RPI (PSU was their toughest opponent). Indiana hasn't played anyone in the Top 5. While Iowa has played all Top 5 teams, including the #2 team twice. It also makes you wonder just how good Wisconsin and Indiana truly are, as well.

So there you have it... 2-5 isn't that bad in my book.

Iowa gets both Penn State (sans Claxton) and Northwestern twice and also gets Illinois at home. Folks, those are ABSOLUTELY winnable games for Iowa. And I am also not sold on Purdue, yet, perhaps Iowa can give them trouble on the road. Minnesota has played much better than I expected, but I think the Hawks can give them a test in the Barn.

What it comes down to is that although Iowa might only win 1 or 2 out of the next 4, they have a VERY favorable last 1/3 of the schedule. That gives me hope that Iowa could finish around the .500 mark in Big Ten play, something I thought would be impossible around the time of Jarryd Cole's injury.