Iowa non-conference basketball schedule released

Kudos to the guys at the Cedar Rapids Gazette for reporting this information on Tuesday.

The Iowa men’s basketball team will play 12 non-conference games in addition to the 18 Big Ten games the Hawkeyes already play. There will also be an exhibition game on Nov. 7 between Iowa and Illinois-Springfield.

The Fran McCaffery Era will officially begin on Nov. 14 when the Hawkeyes play South Dakota State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. After a home game on Nov. 16 against Louisiana-Monroe, who beat Iowa in the last Hawkeye Challenge in 2007, the Hawkeyes head to the Virgin Islands to play at the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas. Iowa’s first game will be against Xavier on Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m. The second game will be against either Alabama or Seton Hall depending on the outcome against the Musketeers.

Iowa then returns for a home game with Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Nov. 26, the day after Thanksgiving, followed by its trip to Winston-Salem, N.C., to play Wake Forest in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Nov. 30.

The Hawkeyes play three straight home games to start December, beginning with a Dec. 4 game against Idaho State. Then the run against in-state foes begins when Northern Iowa comes to Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 7, and then Iowa State visits on Dec. 10.

After the university’s finals week, the Hawkeyes head to Des Moines to face Drake at the Knapp Center on Dec. 18, then face Louisiana Tech back at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Dec. 21.

Iowa’s Big Ten schedule will feature two games against every team except Penn State and Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes will play the Nittany Lions in State College, Pa., while the Badgers come to Iowa City for the only meeting with Wisconsin.

— by Brendan Stiles