Game Day Guide: Iowa Men's Basketball vs. Virginia Tech

Play time is over for Iowa men's basketball. 

After a pair of tune-up games against Lipscomb and Eastern Illinois, the Hawkeyes will travel to Northwest Iowa for a matchup against Virginia Tech in Sioux City, Iowa on Tuesday evening. 

Not only will this be the first real test for Ben McCollum's second Iowa team, this will also be a special homecoming for the 45-year-old coach. McCollum grew up in nearby Storm Lake (about a 74-mile drive from Sioux City) and ever since he took the Hawkeye job in March 2025, one of his primary goals has been to re-engage the disgruntled Iowa fanbase. 

Last season's Elite Eight run certainly helped bring back the energy that Hawkeye basketball used to have, but another step is to schedule high-profile non-conference games on neutral courts across the state of Iowa. 

Along with the Virginia Tech game in Sioux City, the Hawkeyes will play two games at the Casey's Center in Des Moines (Creighton and Alabama). Those have the potential to be incredible games, but the focus is obviously on Virginia Tech. 

"I just think [it's important] getting out there and making sure that we're in front of people and all over the state," McCollum said during a Zoom press conference on Nov. 9. "It's just better to be able to do it this way [on a neutral court in Iowa] in my opinion, to be able to generate a crowd." 

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

Matchup: Virginia Tech Hokies (2-0) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0) 

Location: Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa 

Scheduled game time: Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. 

TV: FS1 

Announcers: Kevin Kugler (play-by-play) and Greg McDermott (analyst)

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

Betting information (per Fan Duel as of Nov. 9): Iowa -4.5 | O/U: 142.5 

ESPN BPI: Iowa 67.3% to win 

KenPom rank: 48

NET: Won't be released until December but probably a Q1 neutral site opportunity 

BartTorvik: 38 

Though Virginia Tech isn't exactly known as an ACC powerhouse (it hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 2022), the Hokies have an experienced group of guards that figure to make things very challenging for Iowa on both sides of the floor. McCollum praised Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young for his "disciplined" defense, which definitely starts with the guards disrupting action on the perimeter. The Hokies have yielded 60.5 just points across their wins over Coppin State and Mercer, but this group can score, too. 

Virginia Tech posted 92 points per game in their two victories, with the trio of Ben Hammond (18 PPG), Jaylen Curry (16.5 PPG), and Tyler Johnson (10.5 PPG) showing out early on. Hammond and Johnson bring that returning spark that every team has to have these days, but watch out for Curry as well. Things didn't go well at Oklahoma State last year, but he's still a talented player capable of getting big buckets. 

It will be good news for the Hawkeyes if they can slow down this talented trio of guards, but that's not the only potential problem this Hokies team presents. West Virginia transfer forward Amani Hansberry has come to Blacksburg and has immediately contributed, leading Virginia Tech in scoring with 19.5 points per game. 

"I think with them, you're going to have to beat them [Virginia Tech]. They're not going to beat themselves, and so you have to find ways to be able to do that. And we're hopeful that our team's ready to to to go with that," McCollum said.

Iowa fans probably didn't think this would be a tough game before the season started, but the more you look at it now, it's not going to be an easy game for the Hawkeyes. McCollum didn't completely rule out 7-foot-3 center Drew McKeever during his press conference, but based off of his comment saying he has two game plans ready to go in case McKeever does or does not play, it doesn't sound promising for the highly-anticipated big to make his Hawkeye regular season debut. 

Trevin Jirak is going to have to step in a big way if McKeever can't go, as will the perimeter shooting. Virginia Tech is going to try and make Iowa earn every possession, so that means the Hawkeyes have to knock down any open shot from the outside they get. 

I don't expect a lot of points to be scored in this one, but I do expect the Tyson Events Center to be rocking. Iowa fans in Northwest Iowa rarely get to see their team in-person, and one would think they fill the 10,000-seat arena with plenty of noise. 

That's what will ultimately carry the Hawkeyes to victory here. The offense isn't going to be perfect, but I think Iowa's defense will do their job. Combine that with some timely buckets on offense, and the Hawkeyes escape with a big non-conference win in McCollum's homecoming. 

Prediction: Iowa 64, Virginia Tech 60