Sept. 4, 2008
IOWA CITY — The 2008-09 Iowa women’s basketball schedule was released today. The defending Big Ten co-champion Hawkeyes will play 20 of 29 regular season games against teams that competed in 2008 post-season tournaments, including six teams (eight games) that participated in the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes will play 16 regular season contests (two exhibitions) and will also host one of 16 sites for the 2009 NCAA Tournament in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, March 22 and 24, 2009.
Iowa, a team that returns eight letterwinners and add five talented freshmen, will play every Big Ten opponent twice during the conference schedule, except for playing Ohio State (home) and Michigan State (away) once. The Hawkeyes’ two conference open dates, or byes, occur Jan. 1 and Jan. 22.
Included in the schedule announcement were four Iowa conference games to be televised on the Big Ten Network (BTN) and a non-conference game to be broadcast on ESPN. More games are likely to be selected by the BTN, KCRG, or other television partners in the next month.
“We have a very challenging league and non-conference schedule, which includes playing top competition on the road,” said Head Coach Lisa Bluder. “I believe our players will rise to the test and have a great season.”
Before the regular season tips off, Iowa will host two exhibition contests in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes will host Quincy (Nov. 2) and Upper Iowa (Nov. 9).
The Hawkeyes will play four games in seven days to start the season. Iowa opens at home vs. Texas State (Nov. 16), then will have only one day to prepare for a contest at Kansas (Nov. 18). The game against the Jayhawks will be televised to a national audience on ESPN. The Hawkeyes then return home to host the 23rd annual KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Challenge, Nov. 22-23. Iowa welcomes Boston, Portland and Providence to this year’s field. The Hawkeyes will open tournament play against Boston. Iowa has won 17 of the previous 22 tournaments.
The following week, Iowa will make its first-ever appearance in the Paradise Jam at the U.S. Virgin Islands against Texas Tech (Nov. 27), South Florida (Nov. 28) and California (Nov. 29). After the Hawkeyes return from the Caribbean, they will visit Durham, NC, to face Duke (Dec. 4) in the second annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Iowa closes its non-conference slate with a trio of games against in-state rivals. The Hawkeyes host Iowa State (Dec. 7) and Northern Iowa (Dec. 11) before traveling to Drake (Dec. 20).
The Black and Gold open league play with three of its first four away from home. Iowa will have only one day to prepare for its conference opener at Wisconsin (Dec. 22). The Hawkeyes return home after Christmas break for a home date against Purdue (Dec. 28) before heading to the state of Indiana for a pair of games that will be both televised on the BTN at Indiana (Jan. 4) and Purdue (Jan. 8).
After that difficult stretch, Iowa will play five of seven at home. The Hawkeyes will host Minnesota (Jan. 11) for a game that will also be televised on the BTN. Iowa then travels to Illinois (Jan. 15) before returning to Iowa City for home contests against Northwestern (Jan. 18) and Michigan (Jan. 26). The game vs. the Wolverines will be the Big Ten’s Game of the Week and will air on the BTN.
Iowa will then play its one game against Michigan State in East Lansing (Jan. 29) before returning home for home dates against Penn State (Feb. 1) and Indiana (Feb. 5). The Black and Gold then visit Minnesota (Feb. 8) and then return home to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State (Feb. 12) in their only match-up of the regular season.
The Hawkeyes conclude the regular season with three of five road contests. Iowa will visit Penn State (Feb. 15), before returning home to host Wisconsin (Feb. 19). Down the stretch, the Hawkeyes will travel to Michigan (Feb. 22), host Illinois (Feb. 26) and conclude the regular season at Northwestern (March 1).
Post-season play begins with the annual Big Ten Tournament (Mar. 5-8) held at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN. The first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament will be held March 22 and 24 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
A complete list of Iowa’s game times and further TV information will be released at a later date.