IOWA CITY – The third-seeded University of Iowa men’s basketball team will host No. 4 seed Kansas State in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament on Tuesday at 8 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will be televised on ESPN.
Season ticket holders and I-Club contributors can order NIT tickets prior to the general public from now until 10 a.m. on Monday, March 18. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for UI students and youth.
Tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10 a.m. Monday at I-800-IA-HAWKS or online at hawkeyesports.com/tickets.
Because of the short turnaround time from the announcement to hosting Tuesday’s game, season ticket holders are not guaranteed to receive their season ticket location. All purchasers will have the ability to select seats in the purchase process.
The NIT appearance will be the ninth in program history and the first since the 2016-17 season. Iowa is 10-8 all-time in the NIT, including finishing runner-up in 2013.
The Hawkeyes enter the NIT with an 18-14 overall record, finishing in a three-way tie for sixth place in the Big Ten standings. It was Iowa’s 11th upper division finish in the last 12 seasons.
All five Hawkeye starters garnered All-Big Ten recognition during the 2023-24 season. Tony Perkins was a second-team All-Big Ten selection, leading scorer Payton Sandfort earned third-team honors, while Owen Freeman, Ben Krikke and Josh Dix were earned honorable mention recognition. Freeman was also named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the first Hawkeye to earn the distinction since Jess Settles in 1994.
Kansas State enters the NIT with a 19-14 overall record. The Wildcats, who were 8-10 in Big 12 play, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament last week in Kansas City. K-State’s Arthur Kaluma and Tyler Perry earned honorable mention All-Big 12 selections this season.
The winner of Tuesday’s game will meet the winner of a first round contest featuring No. 2 seed Utah and fourth-seeded UC Irvine.
SCOUTING KANSAS STATE
• The Wildcats bring a 19-14 record into the NIT after falling, 76-57, to eventual Big 12 Tournament champi- on Iowa State in the tournament quarterfinals. K-State finished with an 8-10 record in Big 12 play.
• K-State went 4-3 down the stretch with wins over Iowa State and Texas. The Wildcats beat the Cyclones, 65-58, in the regular season finale in Manhattan.
• Two players — Tylor Perry and Arthur Kaluma — garnered honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. Perry leads the team in scoring (15.5 points), assists (144) and 3-point field goals (91).
• Kaluma averages 14.7 points to go along with a team- best 7.1 rebounds, while Cam Carter is the third Wildcat in double figures at 14.6 points.
• K-State is 29th nationally in 3-point field goal defense (.307) and 31st in field goal percentage defense (.408).
SERIES HISTORY
• Tuesday’s game will be the ninth meeting between Iowa and Kansas State. It is tied, 4-4.
• Iowa is 3-1 all-time against K-State in Iowa City.
• The Hawkeyes have won the last two meetings, win- ning 89-70 in 2001 and 65-63 in 2008 in Las Vegas.
• Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery has never faced K-State.
IOWA IN THE NIT
The Hawkeyes are making their ninth NIT appearance in school history and the first since the 2016-17 season. Iowa is 10-8 all-time in the NIT.
• Iowa has appeared in the NIT in 1995, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2012, 2013 and 2017. The Hawkeyes went 1-1 in their most recent appearance, downing South Dakota and falling to TCU in overtime in two games played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
