The Iowa men’s basketball team will schedule a home-and-home with Xavier, per a report from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports on Wednesday. The Musketeers will play at Carver-Hawkeye Arena next season, and the Hawkeyes will make the trip to Cincinnati in 2026-27.  

News of the series comes as both programs welcome new head coaches, with the Hawkeyes acquiring Drake’s Ben McCollum and Xavier picking up former New Mexico and Minnesota head coach Richard Pitino. 

Rothstein noted that the series was in the works prior to the coaching change, which saw McCollum replace the fired Fran McCaffery and Pitino take over for Sean Miller, who departed for the open job at Texas earlier this week. 

The Musketeers finished the 2024-25 season with a 22-12 overall record, including 13-7 in the Big East and 15-2 at home. Ranked fifth in the league standings, Xavier’s season came to an end in the first round of the NCAA tournament with an 86-73 loss to No. 6-seeded Illinois.

The Hawkeyes ended the 2024-25 campaign with a narrow winning record, finishing 17-16 overall, including 7-13 in conference and 12-6 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa ranked 13th in the 18-team Big Ten, advancing to the second round in Indianapolis’ Big Ten tournament before bowing out to Illinois, 106-94.

In contrast to McCollum, whose first season coaching Division I basketball came with Drake this past year, Pitino has previous Big Ten experience. He spent eight seasons as the head coach at Minnesota, leading the Golden Gophers to two appearances in the Big Dance. 

Xavier and Iowa’s meeting in 2025-26 will mark the first contest between the two programs since the 2013-14 campaign, where the Hawkeyes eked out a 77-74 victory in the annual Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas.