Iowa Men’s Basketball Schedule Includes Game on Christmas Day
The long wait for the complete 2020-21 Iowa men's basketball schedule ended this afternoon when it was released by the Big Ten and Iowa Sports Information Department. One thing jumps off the page at you. It starts in a week.
The Hawkeyes, ranked 5th in the Associated Press preseason poll, will open the season on Wednesday, November 25 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against North Carolina Central. It's a 3 p.m. tip-off on the Big Ten Network. That date is the first day games are allowed this season, per the NCAA. Two days later, the Hawkeyes are set to host Southern, on Friday, November 27. That game will begin at 4 p.m. and will also be televised by the Big Ten Network.
What's very notable about the 2020-21 season is that the Hawkeyes will actually play on Christmas Day. The game, the third in Iowa history on Christmas Day, will be against the Minnesota Golden Gophers and will be played in Minneapolis. The other two games played by Iowa on December 25 were in holiday tournaments in Hawaii in 1984 and 1988.
Iowa opens Big Ten play on Tuesday, December 22 in Iowa City, against the Purdue Boilermakers. The Hawks are scheduled to wrap up the Big Ten regular season in Iowa City, as well, with a game on Sunday, March 7 against the Wisconsin Badgers. The Big Ten Tournament will be played in Chicago beginning on Wednesday, March 10. Most games on the Iowa schedule do not have game times or television networks announced. Below is a look at the full schedule, with home games in bold. Please note, the University of Iowa is expecting game times and television networks for all games to be announced the week of November 23.
- Wednesday, November 25: North Carolina Central (3 p.m. Big Ten Network)
- Friday, November 27: Southern (4 p.m. Big Ten Network)
- Thursday, December 3: Western Illinois
- Tuesday, December 8: North Carolina
- Friday, December 11: Iowa State
- Sunday, December 13: Northern Illinois
- Saturday, December 19: Gonzaga (in Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
- Tuesday, December 22: Purdue
- Friday, December 25: Minnesota
- Tuesday, December 29: Northwestern
- Saturday, January 2: Rutgers
- Thursday, January 7: Maryland
- Sunday or Monday, January 10 or 11: Minnesota
- Thursday, January 14: Michigan State
- Sunday or Monday, January 17 or 18: Northwestern
- Thursday, January 21: Indiana
- Sunday, January 24: Nebraska
- Friday, January 29: Illinois
- Thursday, February 4: Ohio State
- Sunday, February 7: Indiana
- Wednesday, February 10: Rutgers
- Saturday, February 13: Michigan State
- Thursday, February 18: Wisconsin
- Sunday, February 21: Penn State
- Sunday, February 28: Ohio State
- Thursday, March 4: Michigan
- Sunday, March 7: Wisconsin
- Wednesday through Sunday, March 10 thru 14: Big Ten Tournament in Chicago