[Herky] Hawkeyes slicing through history

[Sue Bailey]

Hawkeyes slicing through history

By Scott Dochterman,

The Gazette

IOWA CITY - Iowa's men's basketball team has sliced through dated 
markings from its past the way companies under investigation try to 
shred their documents.

No. 9 Iowa (16-3, 7-0) has won its first seven Big Ten games for the 
first time since 1970. The Hawkeyes swept Michigan State for the first 
time in 23 years and Purdue in 12. Iowa has won 13 consecutive Big Ten 
regular-season games for the first time since a 14-0 finish in 1970. The 
Hawkeyes are tied atop the league standings with Indiana with eyes on 
their first regular-season league title since 1979.

'We know we're in the driver's seat right now, we know we're playing 
well, but at the same time, we're not even halfway done with the Big Ten 
so it doesn't really mean anything yet,' Iowa guard Mike Gesell said. 
'Our ultimate goal is to win a Big Ten championship.'Iowa has won five 
of seven against ranked opponents - including all four in Big Ten play 
and is 7-3 against top-50 teams in RPI. The team's 16-3 record is the 
school's best since the 1986-87 squad started 18-0 overall.

In some ways, the basketball team has taken its cue from the football 
squad, which finished the regular season 12-0 for the first time in 
school history. Like its football brethren, the basketball team received 
little preseason acclaim despite four starters returning and an NCAA 
tournament win last year.'We kind of look at them as they were an 
underdog coming into the season and so were we,' Iowa center Adam 
Woodbury said. 'Nobody picked either team to do very much, obviously in 
the Big Ten or nationally. We kind of take that same mind-set, that 
we're always being overlooked and we've always got something to prove. 
So we're going to proveourselves to everybody.' But Iowa's winning ways 
quickly have shifted the team from hunter to hunted. Seven different 
teams ranked above them in the latest Associated Press poll have lost 
within the last week. Iowa has won nine straight overall and beaten six 
of their seven Big Ten opponents by double digits. The last time Iowa 
was ranked in the top five was Jan. 10, 1989. The last time Iowawas in 
the top three was in 1987.

'We're finally getting recognition for being a great team, and we've 
always believed we're a great team,' Uthoff said. 'I think stayed away 
from looking at what we're ranked because the only ranking that matters 
is at the end of the year.

'We came in this year for a Big Ten championship and looking forward to 
playing for a national championship. That goalhas not changed.'

•Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman at thegazette.com 
<mailto:scott.dochterman at thegazette.com>

Iowa guard Mike Gesell (10) and center Adam Woodbury (34) high five 
Sunday on a 83-71 victory over Purdue at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 
7-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 1970.

Cliff Jette/The Gazette

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