In the Iowa Hawkeyes (1-0) return to the Gavitt Tipoff Games, which pits Big Ten and Big East teams against each other, they’ll face the DePaul Blue Demons (3-0). As of this writing DePaul is tied with three other teams as the winningest in the country, with victories over Alcorn St (#338 in KenPom), Chicago (NR), and Farleigh Dickinson (#236).
After three seasons mired with less than 10 wins under head coach Dave Leitao, they saw an uptick to 19 wins and a second place finish in the postseason College Basketball Invitational.
The Blue Demons were similarly slanted as the Hawks, with a much more highly rated offense (49th via KenPom) than their defense (223rd).