Try this on for size: Rutgers, Iowa's opponent tonight, might be the highest-ranked team Iowa faces for the remainder of the regular season. Per InterMat, Rutgers is ranked #12 in the dual meet rankings -- higher than any of the other remaining teams on Iowa's schedule. Now it's possible that a team currently ranked below Rutgers could end up ranked higher later in the season -- Illinois is at #14 and Wisconsin is at #15 -- but still: there's a real chance that Rutgers is the best overall team Iowa sees until February.
Obviously, there are some scheduling things that are also at play here.