News and Notes
The Big Ten named Jeff Horner its Player of the Week for his outstanding performance in the Maui Invitational (see Sunday's post).

Iowa slipped into the AP's top 25, coming in at #23. They were the top vote-getter among non-top 25 teams in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll (i.e. #26). Other Big Ten teams earning recognition (AP/ESPN): Illinois (3/5), Michigan State (9/11), Wisconsin (23/25), Michigan (30/38), Ohio State (NR/42), Indiana (NR/49).

Iowa plays Drake tonight at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, and has a 25-game winning streak against the Bulldogs. Iowa has proved (proven?) that a win at Drake doesn't always come easy - the last three games there were 78-74, 73-71, and 50-49. Let's hope Alford has the team ready to go and doesn't repeat last year's loss to an instate rival (UNI) after a hot start. At least he's saying the right things:

"I don't think it's going to be a situation where . . . we're going to overlook
them,'' Alford said. Alford also discounted a possible Hawaii hangover. The
Hawkeyes returned home Saturday and practiced immediately, then had practices
Sunday and Monday to prepare for tonight's game. "We have no excuses going into
this game,'' Alford said.

You also might want to check out Susan Harman's preview.

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