Iowa Hawkeyes guard Tavion Banks Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK Via Imagn Images

Iowa Facing String of Difficult Matchups

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI | By Lane Mills | Last updated Nov 20, 2025 5:00 PM ET

The Iowa Hawkeyes, having opened the season 4-0, are among the nation’s most alluring teams regarding who to buy and who to sell at this early season juncture.

Despite their wins all coming in Carver-Hawkeye Arena against non-conference, heavily unfavored teams, the dominant nature of each of them suggests a team that handles their business when they need to. The next, naturally posed question relates to how the team will respond when competition gets tougher.

One More "Given" Game

Thankfully for Iowa, they've got one more "given" game at home before their schedule changes tune. With Chicago State rolling into to town before the Hawkeyes have the weekend off, the black and gold are slated for what may end up being their easiest matchup yet. The visiting Cougars currently have zero wins to show through five games, and this duel's odds reflect their winless record, with Iowa favored going in by a whopping 32.5 points.

Assuming the home team does what is expected of them, they'll face the Ole Miss Rebels, also in Iowa City, in a battle between two undefeated teams in what will undoubtedly be a game that signals a significant change in the Hawkeyes' strength of schedule. Things could get bumpy, and fast.

Tonight is For the Kids. @UIDM x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/J2kDIdQYQr
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) November 20, 2025

A Rocky Road Ahead

While the Rebels are on the docket first, they may not even be the most difficult task the Hawkeyes are set to endure. That team alone is 5-0 with a notable win over the Memphis Tigers; while the Tigers aren't necessarily a nationally competitive bunch, at least for the time, their presence in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) alone makes them steeper than any team Iowa has faced thus far this year.

One week after the Ole Miss game, head coach Ben McCollum and his Hawkeyes will travel to Michigan to take on Tom Izzo's #17 Michigan State Spartans. With a double-digit win over the #12 Kentucky Wildcats just being added to their resume (even gives the Wildcats' injured state), the Spartans represent a slew of challenging firsts for Iowa.

Arguably the biggest of which is the game being their first introduction to B1G play since hiring the aforementioned McCollum, and after that bout, they'll face another conference competitor in the form of the Maryland Terrapins, in rapid succession.

This is only the beginning of what may be Iowa's most difficult stretch of the season before March. The early wins have been compelling, but McCollum and his first-year team still have something to prove; with a schedule like the one they have, it'll be do or die from next week on.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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