It’s not even January and Carver-Hawkeye Arena is playing host to the first place team in the Big Ten, as #10 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-2, 1-1) take on the the #19 Northwestern Wildcats (6-1, 3-0). What this intro lacks in creativity it is made up for in novelty, as Northwestern hasn’t started 3-0 since at least the 2001-02 season (they last started 2-0 in conference in January 2006).
They’re led by Chris Collins who has put together a historic resume in Evanston as the only head coach to lead the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament (2017), plus a win.