Iowa Basketball releases non-conference schedule

[Blair Sanderson]

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The UI Department of Athletics and head coach Fran McCaffery have announced the 2015-16 nonconference men's basketball schedule. Iowa will play a total of eight nonleague contests, including two exhibition contests, on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will also travel for two road contests and four neutral site games.

Iowa will hit the hardwood with four returning starters and six newcomers. Hawkeye fans will get their first glimpse of the new squad on Oct. 29 in an exhibition against the University of Sioux Falls. Iowa will also play Augustana (South Dakota in an exhibition game on Nov. 6.

Iowa's Big Ten schedule, game times and television information will be announced later this summer.

Nov. 13 vs. Gardner-Webb
Iowa opens its 2015-16 campaign against Gardner-Webb -- an opponent it faced three years ago in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes rallied from a 23-point deficit to upend the Big South opponent, 65-56. The 23-point comeback is the largest in Iowa basketball history. The Runnin’ Bulldogs return nine players from last year’s roster that posted a 20-15 record and competed in the College Basketball Invitational.

Nov. 15 vs. Coppin State
Coppin State is another nonconference opponent the Hawkeyes faced three years ago, like Gardner-Webb. The Hawkeyes overwhelmed Coppin State, 80-50, in Iowa City on Dec. 22, 2012. This season will mark the fourth meeting between the two teams, with Iowa winning the previous three. Michael Grant enters his second season as head coach of the Eagles after posting an 8-23 overall record last season. Coppin State must replace its top three scorers from last year, as the Eagles return only one starter, but welcome six newcomers.

Nov. 19 at Marquette (Gavitt Games)
Iowa will travel to Milwaukee to challenge Marquette for its earliest true road game since playing at Notre Dame in the preseason NIT in 1990 (Nov. 17). This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1982 and the 18th meeting overall (Iowa leads the series, 10-7). Marquette recorded a 13-19 overall record and tied for ninth in the Big EAST under first-year coach Steve Wojciechowski. The Golden Eagles return four lettermen and will welcome five freshmen to its squad for 2015-16.

Nov. 26-29 at Advocare Invitational
Iowa will make its first-ever appearance in the Advocare Invitational (formerly known as the Old Spice Classic) in Orlando. Joining the Hawkeyes in this eight-team tournament are Alabama, Dayton, Monmouth, Notre Dame, Southern California, Wichita State, and Xavier. The Hawkeyes will face Dayton in the first round and either Notre Dame or Monmouth in round two. Iowa recently competed against five of the seven other teams in the field since Fran McCaffery became Iowa’s head coach in 2010 (Alabama in 2010, Dayton and Wichita State in 2012, and Notre Dame and Xavier in 2013). Including Iowa, five of the teams in the Advocare Invitational qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season (Dayton, Iowa, Notre Dame, Wichita State, and Xavier).

Dec. 2 vs. Florida State (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
Florida State will travel to Iowa City for the first time when the two teams meet in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on Dec. 2. The two teams split their previous two meetings, with Iowa beating the Seminoles in the 1988 NCAA Tournament in Los Angeles, while Florida State topped the Hawkeyes in Tallahassee in the 2002 Challenge. Iowa has won its last two Challenge games (98-93 over Notre Dame in 2013 and 60-55 at North Carolina in 2014). The Seminoles, who return their top six scorers from last year’s 17-15 squad, have lost seven consecutive Challenge contests.

Dec. 5 vs. Missouri-Kansas City
This will be the first meeting between Iowa and UMKC. The Kangaroos finished last season with a 14-19 overall record and tied for second place in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with an 8-6 league mark. UMKC returns the WAC Player of the Year and leading scorer Martez Harrison. The junior guard averaged 17.5 points and 3.9 assists per game last season. The Kangaroos also return starters Darius Austin (4.4 ppg and 4.2 rpg) and Thaddeus Smith (2.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg). UMKC is coached by Kareem Richardson, who enters his fourth season as head coach.

Dec. 7 vs. Western Illinois
Iowa and Western Illinois will compete for the ninth time, with the Hawkeyes winning the previous eight meetings. The Hawkeyes won the last meeting, 58-43, in 2008 in Iowa City. The Leathernecks posted an 8-20 record a year ago and went 3-13 in The Summit League. Western Illinois returns its top five leading scorers from last year, including Garret Covington and J.C. Fuller, who led the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 and 12 points per contest, respectively. Fuller, who hails from Sioux City, Iowa, will be one of four seniors on this year’s squad. The Leathernecks are coached by second-year head coach Billy Wright.

Dec. 10 at Iowa State (Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series)
Iowa and Iowa State renew their in-state rivalry for the 69th time; Iowa leads the all-time series 43-25. The Cyclones have won the last six meetings in Ames, with Iowa’s last road victory coming in 2003. The Cyclones are under the guidance of Steve Prohm, who will lead the Cyclones after four seasons as head coach at Murray State. Iowa State returns its top three scorers from last year’s Big 12 Tournament championship team: senior Georges Niang (15.3 ppg), Monte Morris (11.9 ppg), and Jameel McKay (11.0 ppg).

Dec. 19 vs. Drake (Hy-Vee Big Four Classic)
After a week for final exams, Iowa travels to Des Moines to play Drake in the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic. This will mark the second time the Hawkeyes will play the Bulldogs in Wells Fargo Arena; Iowa owns a 57-10 advantage over Drake in the all-time series and has won 31 of the last 34 meetings, including four straight. Ray Giacoletti enters his third season as Drake head coach after serving as an assistant coach at Gonzaga for six seasons (2006-13). Reed Timmer returns after leading the squad in scoring (11.6 ppg) as a freshman in 2014-15. Former Northwestern Wildcat and West Des Moines native, Kale Abrahamson, will be eligible to compete after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Dec. 22 vs. Tennessee Tech
Iowa and Tennessee Tech will hit the hardwood for the first time since 1970, a game in which the Hawkeyes won 98-68 in Iowa City. The Golden Eagles registered a 12-18 overall record and 4-12 mark in the Ohio Valley Conference a year ago. Tennessee Tech loses its top two scorers from last year, but do return senior guard Torrance Rowe (11.4 ppg) and senior forward Josiah Moore (8.9 ppg).

The Hawkeyes are coming off an exciting season that saw Iowa finish third in the Big Ten and advance to the Round or 32 in the NCAA Tournament.

2015-16 IOWA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

Thurs., Oct. 29 University of Sioux Falls = IOWA CITY TBD

Fri., Nov. 6 Augustana (South Dakota) = IOWA CITY TBD

Fri., Nov. 13 Gardner-Webb IOWA CITY TBD

Sun., Nov. 15 Coppin State IOWA CITY TBD

Thurs., Nov. 19 at Marquette # Milwaukee, Wis. TBD

Thurs., Nov. 26 vs. Dayton + Orlando, Fla. 8 p.m. (CT)

Fri., Nov. 27 vs. Notre Dame/Monmouth + Orlando, Fla. TBD

Sun., Nov. 29 vs. TBD + Orlando, Fla. TBD

Wed., Dec. 2 Florida State % IOWA CITY TBD

Sat., Dec. 5 Missouri-Kansas City IOWA CITY TBD

Mon., Dec. 7 Western Illinois IOWA CITY TBD

Thurs., Dec. 10 at Iowa State * Ames, Iowa TBD

Sat., Dec. 19 vs. Drake ^ Des Moines, Iowa TBD

Tues., Dec. 22 Tennessee Tech IOWA CITY TBD


^ - - Hy-Vee Big Four Classic in Des Moines, Iowa # - - Gavitt Games
* - - Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series % - - Big Ten/ACC Challenge
+ - - Advocare Invitational = - - exhibition

 

[claybornsbeard]

Nov 19 to Dec 2 is going to be fun for fans.

 

[pocha444444]

Only 12 non-conference games instead of 13?

 

[nu2u]

Dec 2nd vs. Florida State: the Oak Hill alum challenge. Andrew Fleming vs. Dwayne Bacon. I can only guarantee one thing - Bacon will have considerably more field goal attempts.

 

[4th & 9 inches]

Dec 2nd vs. Florida State: the Oak Hill alum challenge. Andrew Fleming vs. Dwayne Bacon. I can only guarantee one thing - Bacon will have considerably more field goal attempts.

Bacon may score 18, but it will take him 30 shots to do it.

 

[icwesthawk]

Looks like a better schedule than the last couple of years. May mean we lose a game or 2 early, hope not.

 

[jpphawk]

Apparently the hawks couldn't decide which Sioux Falls team to scrimmage so they figured they would play both.

 

[nu2u]

Apparently the hawks couldn't decide which Sioux Falls team to scrimmage so they figured they would play both.

USF is mid to lower level Northern Sun conference team. Hawks should be able to easily clear the bench.

Augustana has a pretty decent team returning, probably pre-season top 10 Division II. They should be able to hang with Iowa longer but still an easy double digit win.

 

[StormHawk42]

Likely 4, and as many as 6 potential games against Top 100 RPI teams. If we come out 9-3, that's pretty good. Could also go 7-5.

Hopefully our experience will dispatch of young talented teams like Marquette and FSU.

 

[hersh236]

Only 12 non-conference games instead of 13?

I'm thinking there may be a third game at the advocare Classic but they won't know who it is until the first two games are played.

 

[Suterman]

Yes I think we are guaranteed 3 games in the tournament.

 

[cidhawkeye]

Aren't there smaller schools that were better than 8-23 to play?

 

[StormHawk42]

We played Coppin not too long ago. My guess is there was a contract in place.

 

[Titanhawk2]

Kind of a crappy home schedule though, isn't it? The upgrades compared to the prior 10 years all seem to be away. The home schedule isn't any better than we've been seeing.

 

[StormHawk42]

It's nearly impossible to get power 5 schools to come in for nonconference games (other than challenges and rivalries) and pretty difficult to get high mid-majors (A10, MWC) to come in as well. Look at it this way, a bunch of our tough games are away from home. Should we win a good chunk of those, it will pay pretty big dividends in March.

Our home schedules the last several years have been less than stellar outside of ISU and whatever the ACC/B1G gives us.

 

[Hawkdogwoof]

USF is mid to lower level Northern Sun conference team. Hawks should be able to easily clear the bench.

Augustana has a pretty decent team returning, probably pre-season top 10 Division II. They should be able to hang with Iowa longer but still an easy double digit win.

Augie was very good last year and has a possible player of the year in Shilling. They play the right way and have a great coach. They could keep it close for a while.

 

[StatisticsLie]

Aren't there smaller schools that were better than 8-23 to play?

The obligatory hate on the schedule...

 

[cidhawkeye]

The obligatory hate on the schedule...

Feel free to share the benefit on a game like this, everybody gets to play? Lower payout? The schedule has a decent balance but games like this have cost iowa in the past. Even a 15-14 game looks better initially. And yes I understand the difficulties in dates available, pay out etc

 

[hwksforlife]

Feel free to share the benefit on a game like this, everybody gets to play? Lower payout? The schedule has a decent balance but games like this have cost iowa in the past. Even a 15-14 game looks better initially. And yes I understand the difficulties in dates available, pay out etc

Apparently you don't or you wouldn't be crying about the schedule.

 

[StormHawk42]

Another note. Drake won't be 9-23 this year. I follow them pretty closely as my second team and they have some pretty good players that are eligible this year, including 2 B1G transfers, and 2 7 footers.

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Another note. Drake won't be 9-23 this year. I follow them pretty closely as my second team and they have some pretty good players that are eligible this year, including 2 B1G transfers, and 2 7 footers.

Overall, a pretty challenging pre-conference schedule. We don't want to lose more than 3 games, which is certainly possible. The Dayton game is a big one, since it would allow some other better opponents. Would also be great to win 2 of 3 from Marquette, FSU and ISU.

 

[clickhere 01]

Kind of a crappy home schedule though, isn't it? The upgrades compared to the prior 10 years all seem to be away. The home schedule isn't any better than we've been seeing.

Yeah,it's pretty much garbage. Teams, with last years RPI:

Garner-Webb- #146
Coppin State- #311
Florida state- #110
UMKC- #297
Western Illinois- #328
Tennessee tech- #290

 

[nu2u]

The schedule could be easily upgraded and I'm in favor of that but this year especially, with 6 new players (8 if you include Ellingson and Baer), I believe Iowa lucked out with weaker opponents** this year because this will afford the coaches the opportunity to play the newbies more valuable minutes in preparation of conference play. As tough as the B10 is this year top to bottom, that is a big bonus.

** a couple of those teams with high '14-15 RPIs should be much better this year IMO, at least on paper (e.g. Florida State, Gardner-Webb).

 

[freemanbrenner]

If iowa were to play wichita state that would be the toughest game in the com con. They are as good as anyone in the country with their backcourt and coach. Think they could win the big ten if they played in it.

 

[cidhawkeye]

Apparently you don't or you wouldn't be crying about the schedule.

I missed the part where I cried about the schedule. I made a comment about trying to avoid 8-20 whatever teams. Your contention is those teams were the only choices for those games/slots? Fairly certain you shouldn't believe that to be the case.

 

[lenoxhawks]

If iowa were to play wichita state that would be the toughest game in the com con. They are as good as anyone in the country with their backcourt and coach. Think they could win the big ten if they played in it.

 

[oldgold22001]

Augustana was 31-3 last year and returns everyone. They are led by Dan Jansen from M-OC and Schilling from Ellsworth MN. THey will be a VERY good test early.

 

[nu2u]

Jansen is a good post player - very active and physical too. Still, if Woodbury isn't showing him the ropes I will be surprised. If Shilling gets a hot hand then I agree, the Vikings can make it a game well into the 2nd half. They also have a sophomore guard from London who is pretty good also.

 

[pocha444444]

I'm thinking there may be a third game at the advocare Classic but they won't know who it is until the first two games are played.

I assumed three games for the Advocare Classic and come up with 12. Not a huge deal, but I think they've had a 13 game nonconference schedule for at least the past five years or so. I wonder if other teams are moving to 12 instead of 13.

 

[MrAugustana]

Funny... I initially started this profile/account several years ago when former Iowa walk-on PG Branden Stubbs was supposedly going to transfer to Augustana (which he didn't...he bailed on the Vikes a week before the school year started...which was a bummer).

I never expected to use it again after that situation came to a close. Lo and behold, it appears to be useful again.

I'm hoping it'll be a fun exhibition game for both sides. You guys should obviously be pretty solid this next year. I know White's graduation hurts (I really enjoyed watching him in the few Iowa games I caught last year), but you've still got a number of strong pieces returning. Frankly, I wish you guys were going to be a little more "down," but it seems that would be a misplaced hope.

As a few people have mentioned, Augie could/should have a pretty solid team back for next year. By D2 standards, we have the potential to be pretty special. We went 31-3 last year (with the season ending in a somewhat unexpected second-round loss in the D2 NCAA Tournament) and had no graduating seniors on the roster or outgoing transfers that will make a major impact. So, like I said, there's certainly potential if people stay healthy.

I was secretly hoping everyone's attitude on here would be, "Some measly D2s from South Dakota? Two 40-point wins for sure" so the Vikes could keep a low profile. But it appears that might not be the case.

I look forward to posting a bit more when the season rolls around. I'm sure some of you guys are football fans too, but personally, I can't wait for basketball season. Especially with an exhibition game like this to get our players pumped to play and our fans pumped to fan early in the season.

 

[MrAugustana]

On a side note, do you guys usually get pretty big fan showings for your exhibition games? Just curious as to what that atmosphere might look/feel like on November 6th.

 

[nu2u]

Where did Stubbs end up at? I remember reading about that but couldn't remember why he decided to play elsewhere. ... kind of left coach Billeter hanging out there.

 

[EpenesaEpenesa]

Yeah the non conf home schedule isnt good, but this schedule was built for selection Sunday. Quality road wins and neutral site wins against quality opponents are the most valuable and Iowa will have many opportunities. Sure you hope Iowa takes care of business and is a lock come March, but if theyre on the bubble or close to it, the schedule will be in their favor.

 

[freemanbrenner]

Frans teams have always played a little better on the road.

 

[StormHawk42]

Where did Stubbs end up at? I remember reading about that but couldn't remember why he decided to play elsewhere. ... kind of left coach Billeter hanging out there.

Could be wrong but I believe he finished up his basketball at Central. But then finished up his education at ISU.