Three Key Thoughts on Iowa Basketball’s Nonconference Slate

Ben McCollum and the Iowa Hawkeyes aren’t shying away from competition. The Hawkeyes’ 2026-27 schedule has turned up the heat with early-season tests from the jump.

The nonconference slate is littered with quality opponents, which are sure to play a role in Iowa’s NCAA Tournament resume. Looking at the lineup of games before Big Ten play begins, some things stand out.

Power conference tests are abundant

Iowa is not padding its schedule with a slate of cupcake games against Quad 3 and Quad 4 opponents this year. Sure, there are a few tune-up games on the slate (sorry, Lipscomb, Eastern Illinois, UMBC, and Western Illinois), but every team needs those.

Iowa is taking on teams from the ACC, Big East, Big 12, and the SEC with games against Virginia Tech, Creighton, Xavier, Iowa State, and Alabama.

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Iowa has five chances to pick up wins against teams that are expected to be NCAA Tournament-bound, or at the very least, fighting for a spot in the newly expanded field of 76 teams.

The Hawkeyes don’t have to pick up all five games, but you have to think that anything less than going 3-2 against these teams would feel a bit underwhelming and dig a hole for Iowa before Big Ten play even begins.

The Hawks are staying home

Talk about a favorable travel schedule. This is about as good as it gets for the nonconference slate. Of Iowa’s 12 games, the Hawkeyes see 11 of them staying within the borders of the state.

Not all are at home in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, though. Eight of these contests are in Iowa City, while three others are being used to appeal to fans statewide.

Virginia Tech and Iowa meet up in Sioux City, Iowa, which is still going to be a pseudo-home game for the Hawkeyes. The other two games against Creighton and Alabama are taking place in Des Moines, Iowa.

The game against Creighton figures to be a split of fans, with Des Moines sitting essentially as the midway point for the two schools.

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What would be a nonconference success?

Maybe it’s buying into what we saw…

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Publish date : 2026-08-30 16:30:00

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