MBB Notes: Season Opener vs. Lipscomb

ON THE AIR
TV: Tuesday’s game will be televised on BTN with Chris Vosters (play-by-play) and Jess Settles (color) on the call.
Radio: Games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin (play-by-play) and Bobby Hansen (color) on the call.  The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and includes portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.  The Hawkeye Radio Network includes a 60-minute pregame show.
KRUI Student Radio: Logan Melia, Henry Rees

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes open the regular season Tuesday, hosting Lipscomb in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  Iowa has won its last 14 season openers.
• Tuesday’s game counts... Iowa played two closed scrimmages at Texas Tech and hosted Saint Louis before downing Illinois Springfield, 88-64, in an exhibition on Oct. 27.
• Head coach Ben McCollum was inducted into the Northwest Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame on Oct. 30 in Maryville, Missouri.
• The Hawkeyes are receiving votes in the Associated Press rankings, coming in at No. 34 with 12 points. 
• Iowa is picked to finish 10th in the Big Ten in the preseason media poll.
• Iowa returns three starters and eight letterwinners from a team that went 24-13 and advanced to the Elite Eight in 2025-26.  The Hawkeyes must replace their top three scorers.
• The Hawkeyes brought in two transfers -- Ty’Reek Coleman from Illinois State and Andrew McKeever from Saint Mary’s College -- and welcome two first-year players in Jaidyn Coon and Ethan Harris.
• McKeever, the tallest player in Iowa men’s basketball history and the first 7-footer coached by Ben McCollum, is on the Kareem Abdul Jabbar Center of the Year Top 20 Preseason Watch List.
• Third-year Cooper Koch is the team’s top returning scorer after averaging 7.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 2025-26.  The forward made 66 3-point field goals -- second-most on the team.
• Cam Manyawu, Bennett Stirtz and Koch were the only three Hawkeyes to start every game in 2025-26.
• Iowa is one of 20 schools nationally (three in the Big Ten) to retain its entire coaching staff and support staff from the 2025-26 season.
• The Hawkeyes will play 15 of their first 17 games inside Iowa state border.  Iowa will play three neutral site contests -- one in Sioux City and two in Des Moines.  The team’s only two road trips before mid-January is a trip to Xavier and Purdue.

LAST GAME: IOWA 88, UIS 64 (EXH.)
The Hawkeyes downed Illinois Springfield, 88-64, in their lone public exhibition Oct. 27 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.  Iowa had four players land in double figures, seven finish with 8+ points and 12 overall score. • Fourth-year Kael Combs paced the team with 13 points, going 4-for-4 from the field, 1-of-1 from long range and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. • Twenty-six of Iowa’s 53 field goal attempts came from 3-point range.  The team made 10-of-26 3s. • Iowa had 21 assists on its 28 field goals with fourth-year Andrew McKeever dishing out a game-high seven assists in 14 minutes.

SCOUTING LIPSCOMB
• The Bisons open the season Nov. 2 at Southeast Missouri State before facing the Hawkeyes on Nov. 3 in Iowa City.
• Lipscomb is picked to finish third in the ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll behind Queens and Jacksonville.  The team has three preseason all-league selections in Mateo Esmeraldo, Titas Sargiunas and Takai Simpkins.
• Esmeraldo averaged 9.9 points and 3.8 boards with a team-high 223 assists and 45 steals in 2025-26, Sargiunas averaged 9.7 points with 15 double-digit scoring games, and Simpkins started all 31 games at Oregon, averaging 12.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists.
• The Bisons finished 19-13 overall and 12-6 in ASUN play during the 2025-26 season.  
• Lipscomb head coach Kevin Carroll is a former Division II coach at Trevecca Nazarena and Maryville University-St. Louis.

LAST GAME: IOWA 88, UIS 64 (EXH.)
The Hawkeyes downed Illinois Springfield, 88-64, in their lone public exhibition Oct. 27 at Xtream Arena in Coralville.  Iowa had four players land in double figures, seven finish with 8+ points and 12 overall score.
• Fourth-year Kael Combs paced the team with 13 points, going 4-for-4 from the field, 1-of-1 from long range and 4-of-4 from the free throw line.
• Twenty-six of Iowa’s 53 field goal attempts came from 3-point range.  The team made 10-of-26 3s.
• Iowa had 21 assists on its 28 field goals with fourth-year Andrew McKeever dishing out a game-high seven assists in 14 minutes.

SERIES HISTORY
• Tuesday’s game is the first meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Lipscomb.
• The Hawkeyes are 4-1 all-time against current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.

ELITE HAWKEYES
Iowa is coming off a season where it advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987 and for the fifth time in program history.  The Hawkeyes’ Sweet 16 berth was the first since 1999 and the ninth all-time.
• Iowa finished the 2025-26 season with a 24-13 overall record and a No. 15 ranking in the final Associated Press and No. 19 ranking in the Coaches’ poll.

NOTABLES
• Following the departure of its top three scorers, Iowa returns 45.4 percent of its scoring, 61.5 percent of its rebounding and 46.7 percent of its assists in 2026-27.
• Two second-year players -- Peyton McCollum and Trey Thompson -- will be making their collegiate debuts.  Both players redshirted in 2025-26.
• Head coach Ben McCollum has led his teams to 15 straight 20-win seasons.
• Assistant coach Luke Barnwell was named to the 2026 Silver Waves Media 100 Most Impactful/Influential High Major Assistant Coaches List and the 2026 Roots 66 List ahead of the 2026-27 season.
• The Hawkeyes finished 14-3 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season -- the most home victories since the 2022-23 campaign.