Ranked Hawkeyes Host Michigan State

Iowa moved into the Associated Press men’s basketball rankings for the first time this season on Monday.

The Hawkeyes (18-8 overall, 8-7 Big Ten) were ranked No. 25 — they didn’t make it into the USA Today coaches poll — and seeing the name next to the number was something that junior guard Joe Toussaint appreciated.

“I saw that this morning, and I was happy,” Toussaint said on Monday. “It’s always good to be in the top 25. We knew we were always one of the better teams in the country. It’s finally starting to click now, we’re putting things together.”

“I think it’s great,” sophomore forward Kris Murray said. “It’s a confidence builder, just because it’s kind of toward the end of the season.

“It shows we’re peaking at the right time, that we’re beating the teams we should beat.”

The Hawkeyes got into the poll despite splitting their games last week. They lost at home to Michigan before going on the road and winning over Ohio State, 75-62.

Iowa is 4-1 in February — a sign, Toussaint said, of how this team has come together.

Asked what the key has been, Toussaint said, “Believing in each other, to be honest. We know what we’re capable of. We’re just putting our minds to one thing — to win.”

“We just kept plugging,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “This league is brutal. We lost some close games. You have to be able to come back and win some close games. Just kept staying positive with everybody. I like the fact that we get really good play from a lot of different people, and that's great to see as a coach. It's important.

“I thought the Ohio State game was a really good example of that. Those kids really competed, and everybody I put in made an impact on the game. That's the kind of team we have to have. That's the kind of team you have to have to win in this league, and we'll keep trying to do that.”

Iowa is tied with Michigan for eighth place in the Big Ten, so there is time to make a move up the standings and get a better seeding for the conference tournament.

A win in Tuesday’s home game over Michigan State (18-8, 9-6) would help that progress.

The Spartans, who had a nine-game winning streak earlier this season, have lost four of their last five games and fell out of the AP poll this week.

“Obviously, that’s a really good team,” Toussaint said. “They’ve been ranked in the top 25 the whole year. It’s a team that’s not going to quit.”

McCaffery said the Spartans are a typical Tom Izzo-coached team.

“They compete. They defend. They're physical,” McCaffery said. “They're deep. They move the ball. They push the ball. A lot of things that they've consistently done well for a very long period of time.”

The Hawkeyes have been a similar team in recent games, especially on defense.

That, Toussaint said, is the biggest change.

“It’s looking at ourselves in the mirror, saying we’re going to get some stops, we’re going to be the tougher team,” Toussaint said. “In the beginning, we all said we were a better defensive team, but we didn’t show it. I feel like everybody’s taking pride in guarding their own yard, helping each other out.”

Murray said the win over the Buckeyes was a blueprint for the final games.

“It all started with the defense,” he said. “And that’s something we’ll have to lean on for the rest of the year.”