Leatherneck Nation

Iowa is ranked #5 in the polls; are they the highest-ranked team we've ever played?

HoosierNeck13 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:11 pm Iowa is ranked #5 in the polls; are they the highest-ranked team we've ever played?

Digging back through the records...ranked teams we've played:
#15 Purdue in 2016
#17 Wisconsin in 2015
#17 Michigan in 2011

That's all that have the ranked number listed in our basketball record books going back to the start of DI for us (81/82). So unless there's a team that was ranked but isn't listed with a ranked number, then #5 Iowa would be the highest ranked team we've played.

ST_Lawson wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 4:05 pm

HoosierNeck13 wrote: ↑Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:11 pm Iowa is ranked #5 in the polls; are they the highest-ranked team we've ever played?

Digging back through the records...ranked teams we've played:
#15 Purdue in 2016
#17 Wisconsin in 2015
#17 Michigan in 2011

That's all that have the ranked number listed in our basketball record books going back to the start of DI for us (81/82). So unless there's a team that was ranked but isn't listed with a ranked number, then #5 Iowa would be the highest ranked team we've played.

Sneak into the Field of 68 this coming March as a #16 and we may do even better than that. LOL

Digging back through the records...ranked teams we've played:
#15 Purdue in 2016
#17 Wisconsin in 2015
#17 Michigan in 2011

That list is incomplete. The basketball record book was in serious disarray until Kyle Bradt was the bball SID starting in 2011. Pretty sure I can dig through my notes and come up with more. Off memory, we played some ranked teams during the Derek Thomas era.

Did a quick check, and found a few more unlisted in the record book. Highest ranked opponent I found so far was the Arizona Wildcats.

November 26, 1990
Arizona was #2 in the country when the Wildcats hosted WIU. Arizona won the game, 90-51. "We saw the best team in the country tonight. They're number one. They're better than UNLV," coach Margenthaler was quoted in the Arizona Daily Star. UNLV was #1 in the AP rankings ahead of Arizona.

Couple other ranked opponents I found.

2007 - Kansas State #22
2010 - Missouri #14

OH! And probably one of the most obvious of all. The first ranked opponent to play at Western Hall. Indiana was ranked #20 when they came to town in 2005.

Thanks for the info, Beau. I figured there might be more, but I wasn't seeing anything in the record books and didn't know of a good way to go back and check elsewhere.

So, #5 would not be the highest ranked team we've played, but it does look like it's only the second time we've played a Top 10-ranked team.

1972
WIU played #4 Minnesota. Gophers starting lineup averaged a height of 6'7"