The Iowa Hawkeyes enter the 2024-25 campaign flying under the radar.
Iowa men’s basketball begins the season unranked in the preseason AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll. This is in line with other preseason projections of the Hawkeyes.
Iowa was picked 11th in the preseason Big Ten men’s basketball media poll.
Four Big Ten teams did make their way into the preseason rankings, led by reigning Big Ten regular season champion Purdue at No. 14 nationally.
Indiana at No. 17, UCLA at No. 22 and Rutgers at No. 25 make their way into the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Illinois, Michigan State, Ohio State, Michigan, Oregon, Wisconsin and Maryland make up the contingent of Big Ten teams that are receiving votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll.
Kansas leads the way as the preseason No. 1 team. The Jayhawks received 30 first-place votes. The rest of the top five features No. 2 Alabama, defending two-time champion and No. 3 UConn, No. 4 Houston and No. 5 Iowa State.
Iowa returns preseason All-Big Ten Team member Payton Sandfort. The 6-foot-8, 215 pound senior averaged 16.4 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 44.6% from the field, 37.9% from 3-point distance and 91.1% from the free throw line last season.
The Hawkeyes also bring back standout sophomore big Owen Freeman. Freeman averaged 10.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 assists per game while shooting 61.4% from the field and 66.1% from the free throw line. He scored in double figures in 18 games, had 11 games with three or more blocks and tallied five double-doubles.
The rest of Iowa’s nucleus features sophomore guard Brock Harding, junior guard Josh Dix, graduate guard Drew Thelwell, sophomore forwards Seydou Traore and Pryce Sandfort and sophomore forward Ladji Dembele among others.
Here’s a look at the full preseason AP Top 25 Men’s College Basketball Poll.
| Ranking | Team | Record | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kansas | 0-0 | 1,449 (30) |
| 2 | Alabama | 0-0 | 1,428 (14) |
| 3 | UConn | 0-0 | 1,345 (11) |
| 4 | Houston | 0-0 | 1,343 (4) |
| 5 | Iowa State | 0-0 | 1,177 |
| 6 | Gonzaga | 0-0 | 1,157 (1) |
| 7 | Duke | 0-0 | 1,154 |
| 8 | Baylor | 0-0 | 1,109 |
| 9 | North Carolina | 0-0 | 1,037 |
| 10 | Arizona | 0-0 | 905 |
| 11 | Auburn | 0-0 | 901 |
| 12 | Tennessee | 0-0 | 775 |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 0-0 | 737 |
| 14 | Purdue | 0-0 | 678 |
| 15 | Creighton | 0-0 | 631 |
| 16 | Arkansas | 0-0 | 625 |
| 17 | Indiana | 0-0 | 492 |
| 18 | Marquette | 0-0 | 484 |
| 19 | Texas | 0-0 | 332 |
| 20 | Cincinnati | 0-0 | 271 |
| 21 | Florida | 0-0 | 249 |
| 22 | UCLA | 0-0 | 210 |
| 23 | Kentucky | 0-0 | 191 |
| 24 | Ole Miss | 0-0 | 132 |
| 25 | Rutgers | 0-0 | 102 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:
Illinois 92, St. John’s 91, Xavier 73, Texas Tech 58, Wake Forest 37, Kansas State 30, Michigan State 29, Ohio State 29, Michigan 19, BYU 14, Oregon 12, McNeese State 11, Miami 11, Boise State 9, Saint Louis 9, Clemson 9, Providence 9, Mississippi State 6, VCU 6, Wisconsin 5, Saint Mary’s 5, Louisville 4, UAB 4, Arkansas Little Rock 3, Grand Canyon 3, Arizona State 2, San Diego State 2, Princeton 2, High Point 1, Maryland 1.
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