The Iowa Hawkeyes had no business winning in Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon. Hitting the road in the Big Ten is difficult. Playing without a key contributor is also difficult. Playing without that key contributor when you’re already down two other season opener starter and a key bench player is even more difficult. Doing all those together is virtually impossible.
Yet Iowa, who hadn’t won a road game since their January 14th win at Northwestern, overcame the odds to take home a 58-55 victory over Minnesota. It was a win that was never supposed to happen. Even before the CJ Fredrick injury at Indiana on Thursday, Iowa was projected to lose to the Gophers by both KenPom and Sagarin.