Before some Iowa fans consider making a last-second trip to get their eyes examined, this is not a typo. 

One day after Iowa women's basketball downed Eastern Illinois at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Thursday evening, the men's team will look to do the same on Friday. Ben McCollum's second Hawkeye squad is coming off a 76-54 triumph over Lipscomb in Tuesday's season opener, and with back-to-back non-conference games against Power Four teams (Virginia Tech, Creighton) the coach will certainly hope to see a cleaner performance from his team against EIU. 

Here's everything you need to know about the matchup, including some analysis on the Panthers, game time, TV channel, and our prediction for the contest.  

Matchup: Eastern Illinois Panthers (0-1) @ Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0) 

Location: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa 

Scheduled game time: Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m. 

TV: BTN 

Announcers: Zach Mackey (play-by-play) and Shon Morris (analyst) 

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (Gary Dolphin, Bobby Hansen) 

Student Radio: KRUI (Ben Wiederholt, Aiden Schoeff) 

Location: Charleston, Illinois 

Enrollment: 3,975 undergraduates (over 7,600 total per the university) 

Famous alumni: Tony Romo, Sean Payton, Jimmy Garoppolo, Mike Shanahan, John Malkovich 

Series history: Iowa leads, 5-1 (31-1 all-time against Ohio Valley foes) 

KenPom rank: 359 

Hawkeye fans may want to look away, because things didn't go too well for Iowa the last time Eastern Illinois paid a visit to Iowa City. An incoming blizzard forced the Dec. 21, 2022 meeting to be moved in the afternoon, resulting in a sparse crowd at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa played sluggishly, allowing 55 points in the second half en route to a stunning 92-83 defeat. 

The Hawkeyes would still comfortably make the NCAA tournament that year, but the win was certainly a high mark for a struggling Panther program. Eastern Illinois has won just 33% of its games under sixth-year head coach Marty Simmons, hasn't had winning season in six years, and has gone 25 years without an NCAA tournament appearance. 

The Panthers slumped to a 13-20 overall record (8-12 in league play) in 2025-26 and opened 2027 with a 34-point loss to Indiana on Monday, so it's safe to say they aren't expected to contend in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) this year (picked eighth in preseason). 

Players to watch

C Tanner Vogel: After spending his first four years of college ball navigating the junior college and NAIA route, Vogel finally landed with a Division I team for his final season of eligibility. EIU certainly hopes Vogel's 7-foot frame can be a formidable rim protector this season and so far so good. Vogel tallied eight points and seven boards against Indiana, so we'll see how he matches up against Iowa's 7-foot-3 center Drew McKeever if he's able to play. 

G Markus Blackwell: Blackwell didn't score a point in 11 minutes of action against Indiana, so that could be a little troublesome for this EIU team, but Simmons and Co. certainly hope that he can get going a little bit against the Hawkeyes. Blackwell was named a preseason player to watch in the OVC after shooting 43.6% from three-point range last season. 

Iowa struggled to hit from outside on Tuesday, but I don't expect that to be the case on Friday. McCollum was happy with his team's offensive execution, but they simply missed too many outside shots and free throws. Combine improved numbers there with an already-feisty defense, and the Hawkeyes should coast to a win here.