Games that I know we play...
Home vs Iowa State
Away @ Xavier
Who would we like to see added?
Home vs Iowa State
Away @ Xavier
Who would we like to see added?
26-27 Non Conference schedule
- Thread starter Roncuba65
- Start date
I wonder if having a game in Des Moines will be an annual thing?
And I am guessing Ben is gonna schedule again so that our metrics look good come NCAA Tournament time
If Iowa isn't penalized by the NCAA tournament committee for playing them, which is why Ben said he didn't schedule them last sesason, then those two HAVE to be added. It's criminal that Iowa can't play the mid-majors in its own state because of NCAA foolishness.
Iowa is playing UNI again this fall in football, but it can't play them in men's basketball? That's bull***t.
I applaud the effort to create a schedule that will improve our NCAA tourney metrics.
However, if that is the goal, we should spend more time avoiding teams like Chicago State, Western Illinois, and Bucknell, rather than avoiding UNI and Drake.
However, if that is the goal, we should spend more time avoiding teams like Chicago State, Western Illinois, and Bucknell, rather than avoiding UNI and Drake.
If you win then you're not getting penalized. It's the threat of a loss that you don't get with the quad 4 games that makes the November/December home slate less than desired
Agreed - those games are pretty much worthless on the schedule. Not to mention, at least for me, those are not very exciting games. Crowds aren't usually too stoked, and the games themselves aren't competitive. Think every team has at least a couple of those on the schedule, but not too many, please.
Those in-state rivalry games were always a lot more fun, win or lose.
I think last year we had a game scheduled against St. Louis in DSM but was changed to Bucknell as Ben didn't want to play his friend who coaches St. Louis... which is odd to me as you might have to play them sooner or later but I will trust Ben's decision lol, I personally wouldn't mind seeing the Big 4 classic back in DSM where Iowa and ISU rotate against UNI and Drake.
Those games in Des Moines counted as neutral court, didn't they? If so, I expect Ben will try to do that every year. The NET will like those neutral court games more than a home game.
Now that we don't personally live in sioux falls they can stop trying to go there but the energy at the "neutral court" games during Fran's tenure was always infinitely better than home games. Selfishly I'd love to see a weekend series in DSM.
I think the Mark (Moline, IL) vs Wash St had a better home court advantage than CHA did at the time. But Sioux Falls did always show up for the Hawks.
I don’t expect that to be the case this year with CHA. Hoping that Carver is rockin’ after that run last year.
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Well then tell the metrics to f***ing bump UNI and Drake above Quads 3 and 4 permanently.............problem solved.
Well then tell the metrics to f***ing bump UNI and Drake above Quads 3 and 4 permanently.............problem solved.
I do think most of the NCAA should be charged with crimes & thrown in jail, especially after forcing Kirk to vacate 4 wins.
Good story on how Ben schedules, from a year ago:
Ben McCollum not sure about having Drake, Northern Iowa back on schedule
March 25, 2025
Iowa City, Iowa – It would be easy to assume with Ben McCollum having coached at Drake this past season that he would be all for having Drake and Northern Iowa back on Iowa’s nonconference schedule.
But that isn’t the case, at least right now.
Iowa held an introductory press conference for McCollum on Tuesday and he was asked about scheduling and about playing Drake and Northern Iowa again.
Iowa stopped playing both Drake and Northern Iowa in home-and-away series in 2012, as did Iowa State.
Former Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said part of the reason was to give Iowa more nonconference scheduling flexibility.
“Specific to Drake or UNI, good question,” McCollum said. “I don’t know on that. It probably depends on if that allows us to make the NCAA Tournament better.
“Now, there are some unique situations that you will play, just because it’s fun for the fans, and that might be number three as well. I’m not afraid of those either.”
McCollum said he wants to play a nonconference schedule that will prepare Iowa for the stretch drive, and for postseason.
“I would say scheduling wise, you want to put yourself in the best position, one, to have your team be at their best in March.” McCollum said. “So if you need — that specific team, if they need to play a top-tier team, then you schedule that. If you need to play a bunch of teams that are not quite as good to build confidence, then you do that. So you schedule with that in mind first.
“The second part of that is you need to schedule to make the NCAA Tournament. So obviously there’s the net rankings, and there’s a lot of mathematics that go into that. Obviously, your Quad 4s is, you beat a bunch of Quad 4s by a lot of points, going on the road versus a Quad 3 or Quad 2 doesn’t make a lot of sense just from an analytic standpoint to be able to make that NCAA Tournament.”
Iowa’s nonconference schedule has been criticized for having too many overmatched opponents and too many home games in which the outcome is all but decided before the game even starts.
Home attendance was at a 60-year low this season and that’s part of the reason Fran McCaffery was fired as the Iowa head coach after 15 seasons.
Iowa Athletic Director Beth Goetz zeroed in on McCollum after letting Fran McCaffery go, and now McCollum is determined to bring back the fans, and to have Carver-Hawkeye Arena rocking again, with or without playing Drake and Northern Iowa in a home-and-away series.
Iowa and Iowa State used to play Drake and Northern Iowa in Des Moines, rotating between the two Missouri Valley opponents each year.
“In taking this job, I’ve always felt like you needed to take a job that you can win championships and compete for them on a consistent level. Beth Goetz has given me that opportunity and given resources to make sure that we can do just that, and that’s our goal is to get Carver-Hawkeye Arena filled back up, to create an environment where other fans want to come and to be the best venue in the State of Iowa. And we’re going to fight for that. We’re going to compete for that. We’ve done that at other schools, and hopefully we can do that here.”
Ben McCollum not sure about having Drake, Northern Iowa back on schedule - Hawk Fanatic
By Pat Harty Iowa City, Iowa – It would be easy to assume with Ben McCollum having coached at Drake this past season that he would be all for having Drake and Northern Iowa back on Iowa’s nonconference schedule. But that isn’t the case, at least right now. Iowa held an introductory press...
hawkfanatic.com
I think Ben knew St Louis was going to be really good and they had "a chat."
I did like the Big 4, as well. Heck, they could have made it a 2 day thing where both Iowa State and IOWA play Drake and UNI on consecutive days over the weekend (or on a Friday night and a Sunday afternoon)
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And it gives Des Moines area fans a chance to go to a local game
It really is a win-win
How's this sound?
Friday night:
6:00 pm tip:.....IOWA vs UNI
8:30 pm tip:.....ISU vs Drake
Sunday afternoon:
1:00 pm tip:......IOWA vs Drake
3:30 pm tip:.....ISU vs UNI
Except flip the times. No need to reward ISU if we're being greedy. Also gives me personally a chance to get kids from their after school program and either take them to the game Friday night or dump them at a grandparent's house and not have to fight rush hour traffic getting down town. Although I'll take regular weekday traffic over the morons who visit on weekends.How's this sound?
Friday night:
6:00 pm tip:.....IOWA vs UNI
8:30 pm tip:.....ISU vs Drake
Sunday afternoon:
1:00 pm tip:......IOWA vs Drake
3:30 pm tip:.....ISU vs UNI
I also like playing neutral court games that are essentially home games. I've been to non-conf games at the MARK (Moline / Quad Cities) in the past and it was really fun! Scheduling some other regional team would make sense -like Northern Ill, DePaul, Loyola, or Bradley. Nothing stopping them from playing in Sioux Falls, DSM, and the QC every year. I think people in those areas would look forward to it.