The Hawkeye men begin their basketball season Tuesday, 11/4, against Robert Morris. This will be the first look we get from the team, as they absconded the standard exhibition in favor of a second secret scrimmage against the team who knocked out Ben McCollum’s Drake Bulldogs, Texas Tech. From the sounds of it, the Hawkeyes took it far more seriously than their blowout loss in St. Louis against the Billikens (a 99-74 loss where Bennett Stritz sat the last two of five 12-minute segments) though it still ended in a loss. So let’s dive into what can be expected throughout the season and how it compares to prior seasons.
(all rankings via KenPom)
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Non-conference fodder
Tues 11/4 Robert Morris (221)
Fri, 11/7 Western Illinois (338)
Tue, 11/18 Southeast Missouri (255)
Thu, 11/20 Chicago State (362)
Sun, 12/14 Western Michigan (292)
Sat, 12/20 Bucknell in Des Moines (299)
Mon, 12/29 Mass Lowell (295)
This slate of opponents does not explicitly ameliorate the criticisms of Fran McCaffery’s scheduling throughout his tenure. Namely, the number of sub-300 opponents Iowa regularly faced.
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2024-25: 5 teams finished below 300 (4 of them began below 300)
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2023-24: 3 teams finished below 300 (2 of them began below 300)
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2022-23: 4 teams finished below 300 (3 of them began below 300)
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2021-22: 2 teams finished below 300 (both began below 300)
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2020-21: 3 teams finished below 300 (none began below 300)
The toughness of this schedule is largely going to be defined by where the teams in the 290s end up. The hope with this group of teams is that Iowa can handle them offensively and defensively for 40 minutes in a way that Fran’s teams never seemed compelled to do. They’re the types of opponents high major teams feast on when pumping up their advanced stats bona fides and something past Hawkeye teams failed to do.
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The other thing to take a look at during these games is how Stirtz is managed. He played 98.8% of available minutes last season and it is not likely to be sustainable throughout a Big Ten schedule. Who is operating Iowa’s offense when he’s off the court and how the Hawkeyes look during those times will be an indicator of how McCollum feels about his PG depth. The backup PG figures to be Kael Combs but there’s an outside shot that it ends up being McCollum’s son, Peyton.
Also, Alvaro Folgueiras reunites with his old ball club who took Alabama to the wire in the tournament as a 15-seed.
The one-off
Fri, 11/14 Xavier (62)
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Breaking this one off from the above group because Iowa has historically had some type of early November game against a power conference opponent. It was typically the Big Ten/Big East Gavitt Games (RIP) or the ACC/Big Ten Challenge (RIP) but this year it’s the first half of a home-and-home with Xavier. It’s the only Friday game against a power conference opponent, so hopefully the team can draw a rowdy crowd since there’s no conflict with the football game at USC.
The tough November stretch
Tue, 11/25 Mississippi in Palm Springs, CA (24)
Wed, 11/26 Grand Canyon or Utah in Palm Springs, CA (80 / 42)
Tue, 12/2 at Michigan State (25)
Sat, 12/6 Maryland (34)
Thu, 12/11 at Iowa State (13)
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Iowa brings back a multi-team event with a trip out west for the Acrisure Classic. Hell if I know what Acrisure is but the event kicks of 5 games across 17 days where they’ll face no less than 4 2025 NCAA Tournament teams. Iowa has rarely had good luck with the December Big Ten games which have resulted in losses and teams who were absolutely gassed against Iowa State, who has not typically had the same scheduling rigor during the same timeframe. (This year they play at Purdue the same day Iowa takes on Maryland)
So this bunch of games offers a real insight into what McCollum can bring to the Hawkeyes. Do they maintain focus & effort in ways we failed to see when late stage Fran teams’ shots didn’t fall? Does the conditioning the social media team gassed up during the offseason bear early fruit against these marquee opponents? Can Iowa take a jump in the same way Drake did last year with wins over Miami (FL), Florida Atlantic, and Vanderbilt? Is Bennett Stirtz the lottery pick he’s projected to be or is the load simply too much for him to bear?
It’s a HUGE opportunity and one which can provide a ton of insight into McCollum, Stirtz, and the Hawkeyes as a whole.
The post-football Big Ten slate
Sat, 1/3 UCLA (10) – Point guard battle between Stirtz and the Bruins’ Donovan Dent.
Tue, 1/6 at Minnesota (73) – The second of three new head coaches Iowa will face (Niko Medved)
Sun, 1/11 Illinois (6)
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Breaking this one off because this is perhaps the most important home game Iowa will have this season. It’s against a highly rated opponent who has been a craw in the Hawks side for the better part of the last 5 seasons. Once Brad Underwood got it rolling, the Illini have won 9 out of the last 10 games between these two. YUCK.
Despite the number Underwood has had on Iowa, that does feel like there’s a whisper that it’s gone. His teams could score with Fran’s but play 5 minutes’ worth of defense to tilt the game in their advantage. With McCollum (and the baked-in knowledge of how deep this rivalry goes as a kid who grew up on 80s/90s Hawkeye basketball), this is one he’s had circled on his calendar since schedules were announced. He’ll want this, Carver-Hawkeye will want this, and if the Hawkeyes haven’t announced themselves with a win (or two or three) against the other top opponents they’ve faced, this is their chance to get fans behind this team for the rest of the season.
Wed, 1/14 at Purdue (3) – A House of Horrors
Sat, 1/17 at Indiana (40) – The final new coach Iowa will face in Darian DeVries, who was very early considered a favorite for the Iowa job
Tue, 1/20 Rutgers (85) – One Iowa can’t lose if they want to go to dancing
Wed, 1/28 USC (22) – Outside of the Christmas break, this is the most rest Iowa has between games this season
Sun, 2/1 at Oregon (37) – First of 3 road games in 4, spanning both coasts
Wed, 2/4 at Washington (45) – If this season is anything like last year, it’s probably important for Iowa to get the Oregon game because this one is slated for 10p, God’s Time
Sun, 2/8 Northwestern (57) – Kinda can’t believe Chris Collins is still around
Wed, 2/11 at Maryland (34)
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Another break just to highlight how insane this stretch is. I get that we are in a new normal with the coast-to-coast conference but … this is crazy!
Sat, 2/14 Purdue (3) – A nice Valentine’s Day present for Ben McCollum to have Purdue as one of the home-and-homes during his inaugural season
Tue, 2/17 Nebraska (51) – Another one Iowa probably can’t lose if they want to play important games in March
Sun, 2/22 at Wisconsin (20) – This has a real chance to be an ugly one
Wed, 2/25 Ohio State (27) – Jake Diebler only has this job because their 2023 season didn’t go off the rails after they fired Chris Holtmann
Sat, 2/28 at Penn State (95) – Hell on earth is a road game Brice-Jordan Arena
Thu, 3/5 Michigan (11) – May Senior Day be a joy for Bennett Stirtz, et al
Sun, 3/8 at Nebraska (51) – Sam Hoiberg is still around, playing basketball in a headband
And that’s that! Tons of opportunities for the Hawkeyes to show they’re the real deal. The important thing will be that they string together enough wins to build fan excitement. With Carver rocking for the women & wrestling, we know it can be a great place to watch the Hawks.
