While many fans are focused on the undefeated Iowa football team right now, basketball season is just a few months away.
Ben McCollum's Hawkeyes are coming off a magical NCAA Tournament run that ended a 39-year Elite Eight drought. While some key contributors will not be returning from that team, excitement is still at an all-time high for the upcoming season. And that excitement only grew following the release of Iowa's Big Ten schedule on Wednesday.
The conference slate is a difficult one for the Hawkeyes. They'll face several of the league's best teams throughout the winter.
Here are the three biggest takeaways from Iowa's Big Ten schedule:
A difficult start
As usual, Iowa will play a pair of conference games in December before the main slate starts in January.
This year's games will be difficult. The Hawkeyes start Big Ten play on Dec. 1 against Purdue in West Lafayette. The Boilermakers lost a lot of production from last year, but still return some talent and bring in a great recruiting class. Iowa hasn't fared well at Mackey Arena recently.
Then, on Dec. 7, Iowa will host Indiana at Carver. The Hoosiers hit the portal hard and should be a vastly improved team this season. That won't be an easy game. Throw in the Cy-Hawk game on Dec. 10, and you have an early measuring-stick stretch for the Hawkeyes. It's a tough start to conference play.
February back-to-back presents a big opportunity
The Hawkeyes will learn a lot about themselves in the middle of February. They'll host Michigan State on Feb. 16. Tom Izzo's Spartans have been the cream of the crop in the Big Ten for a quarter century. That doesn't seem likely to change this season. At home, this could be a chance for a signature victory for the Hawkeyes.
Four days later, Iowa will travel to Ann Arbor to take on the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines. While Michigan will look very different this season, they're still the defending champs at home. That presents a difficult but exciting opportunity for McCollum's team.
A perfect finale
The schedule makers knew exactly what they were doing with this game. Iowa will end the regular season in Champaign for an Elite Eight rematch with Illinois. It's the only game between the two rivals on the schedule, and the environment should be electric.
The Fighting Illini bring back a loaded roster with national championship hopes. They'll be looking for another big win over their border rival. The Hawkeyes will be seeking some revenge after watching their dream run come to an end at the hands of the Illini. This has all the makings of a classic Big Ten basketball game.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: 3 takeaways from Iowa basketball's Big Ten schedule
