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Hawkeyes play 17 homes games this season

IOWA CITY – The University of Iowa, in conjunction with the Big Ten Conference, announced its men’s basketball schedule for the 2017-18 season on Wednesday.

Iowa will play 17 home games in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which includes a pair of exhibition games (Oct. 27 and Nov. 2), before the regular season tips off on Nov. 10, against Chicago State.

Iowa will play five Big Ten teams twice and eight teams once. The Hawkeyes will compete against Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, and Ohio State twice. Iowa will host Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin, and travel to Illinois, Maryland, Nebraska, and Rutgers.

“We have an early December Big Ten home game due to the men’s tournament being played one week earlier at the end of the season,” said Gary Barta, UI director of athletics. “The nonconference schedule includes a number of challenging opponents, and of course, any conference game features a solid, well-coached opponent. Taking the tournament to New York provides an opportunity to showcase the Big Ten in New York City, and allows our players the opportunity to compete in one of the top basketball venues in the country.”

Iowa’s two early December Big Ten games are Penn State in Iowa City on Saturday, Dec. 2, and at Indiana on Monday, Dec. 4. It will mark the sixth time in eight years that the Hawkeyes will open league play at home under head coach Fran McCaffery.

The Big Ten home slate includes four weekend home contests, including three on Saturdays (Penn State on Dec. 2; Purdue on Jan. 20; Indiana on Feb. 17) and one on Sunday (Northwestern on Feb. 25). The Hawkeyes play at home in their regular season finale for the seventh time in eight years under McCaffery.

Iowa’s conference schedule includes two one-day preps (Dec. 2 & Dec. 4; Jan. 2 & Jan. 4). The Hawkeyes will be home for the games on Dec. 2 (Penn State), Jan. 2 (Michigan) and Jan. 4 (Ohio State). Iowa will play three straight contests away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena in mid-January (Jan. 7, Jan. 11, Jan. 17), but will have five days in between the last two games of that road stretch.

“The release of the schedule means we are one step closer to college basketball season,” said McCaffery. “The schedule is a little different this year in playing two conference games early in December and having a couple one day preps, but it won’t change our approach to each game. We will prepare for each game like always, one at a time. The Big Ten is the toughest conference in the country top-to-bottom and all 18 games will be a challenge.”

Iowa returns 12 letterwinners, including four starters, from last year’s squad that won 19 games and tied for fifth place in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes return 76.7 percent of their scoring and 86.2 percent of their rebounding.

Game times and television information for each game will be announced at a later date.

Iowa has sold out a combined 32 home games the last five years and has ranked in the Top 25 in national attendance each of the past five seasons.

Fans can request season tickets for the upcoming basketball season at the UI Athletics Ticket Office at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, over the phone at 1-800-IA-HAWKS, or online at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.

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