Iowa basketball: Hawks’ conference schedule does them no favors
By Andrew Wade
The Big Ten men’s basketball conference schedule was released today, and it did the Iowa basketball team no favors in February.
As with most things months away, a lot can happen between now and then but my initial reaction to the recently released Big Ten conference basketball schedule is it did the Iowa basketball team zero favors.
Fran McCaffery and his retooled Iowa basketball squad are set to open Big Ten Conference play by traveling on the road to Ann Arbor to take on Juwan Howard and his Michigan team. Three nights later, they get a tough Minnesota team at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The schedule to start the new year isn’t half bad though with a mix of home games against some of the tougher teams in the conference (Maryland, Michigan, and Wisconsin) and road games against some of the weaker teams in the conference (Penn State, Northwestern, and Nebraska) but that’s not what I am worried about.
I’m more concerned with a grueling February schedule, and as most Iowa basketball fans have come to realize by now, the Hawks have historically struggled in February, regardless of schedule.
Here’s the breakdown of February for Iowa:
February 2: Illinois @ Iowa
February 5: Iowa @ Purdue
February 8: Nebraska @ Iowa
February 13: Iowa @ Indiana
February 16: Iowa @ Minnesota
February 20: Ohio State @ Iowa
February 25: Iowa @ Michigan State
February 29: Penn State @ Iowa
The games in bold might be 4 of the Iowa basketball team’s 6 toughest games this season either because of opponent or location (Indiana at Assembly Hall is always tough), and it all comes during a month where the Iowa basketball team has typically struggled under Fran McCaffery.
That being said, one good thing about this schedule is they get Michigan first. It’s certainly a tough game, but the first game of conference action is always a bit of a mess. It’ll be the first taste of Big Ten basketball for a decent chunk of the Wolverine’s squad, and the energy will be high for both teams, meaning anything can happen. Moreover, the Iowa basketball team will already be battle-tested after taking on Creighton and Texas Tech (I’m assuming Iowa can knock out Creighton) in the Las Vegas Invitational.
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I also really like the January schedule. It’s doable, and I firmly believe the Hawkeyes could walk away from January with just 1 or 2 conference losses, maximum. If they get off to a hot start in December and January, they could have enough momentum to not break down in February as we’ve seen in the past.