Iowa Basketball: 2018-19 season preview for the Hawkeyes
By Adam Childs
Key Non-Conference Games
Nov 15 – Oregon – 2K Classic
Nov 16 – Syracuse or Connecticut – 2k Classic
Dec 6 – Iowa State
Dec 15 – Northern Iowa (Des Moines)
Iowa’s non-conference schedule is pretty weak besides the 2k Classic in New York. Besides playing their in-state rivals in Iowa State and Northern Iowa they do not have another game that looks like it will be trouble for them. That is not to say they cannot lose because they dropped a game to Louisiana and South Dakota State last year.
The Hawkeyes start of the year with two cupcake games (UMKC and Green Bay) before they head off to New York for the 2k Classic. They will have their hands full in the first game against Oregon. The Ducks are a preseason favorite in the Pac-12 and some even think they could be a top ten team this year. If Iowa were to beat them it would be a huge win and would say a lot about the Hawkeyes this year.
They then would play either Syracuse, who should be good, or Connecticut who is still trying to build their way back up. Iowa would probably be favored against UConn but underdogs against Syracuse. Iowa should come out of this with at least one win and if they were to happen to win it, then they could make some serious noise in the Big Ten this year.
Iowa will then be looking for some revenge against Iowa State as they lost to them last year. It is always nice to beat your in-state rival and Iowa would definitely like to take the title of best team in Iowa back. The Northern Iowa game should be a decent game that the Hawkeyes should be able to win. If they can get by the Panthers then the rest of the non-conference schedule is bad.
Look for Iowa to have about eight non-conference wins this year. If they can come in with more than that proves well for the Hawkeyes tournament chances this year.