So... it's been a while since we got together for one of these shindigs, hasn't it? The last time we gathered to watch the Iowa cagers take part in basketball-related NIT shenanigans, Iowa State was still alive in the men's and women's NCAA Tournaments, Matt McDonough was only a one-time NCAA champion, and Lehigh wasn't yet everyone's second-favorite school. Such is the nature of wacky NIT scheduling, though.

The esteemed Mr. Cow has your preview needs covered for this game, and Mr. MyAss has opined on Oregon's court (and the nature of the Oregon-Nike relationship). There's nothing let to do but get to the game. So let us not forget the sacrifices made on Iowa's journey to the Pacific Northwest and round two of the NIT (mourn you 'til we join you, B-Stubbs) and let us root on the Hawkeyes. The game is on ESPNU/ESPN3.com at 4pm CT.

The usual open thread rules apply; I hope you know them by now. Go Iowa.

WOO.

Well, I am properly stoked now. WOO. GO IOWA AWESOME!

It's Iowa's first postseason game (excluding the Big Ten Tournament) in six years. It's quite possibly a sellout crowd. It's maybe Matt Gatens' last game in an Iowa uniform. It's Dayton, the dastardly ne'er do wells who played a critical role in torpedoing one of Iowa's best shots at an NCAA title over 30 years ago. Horace has you covered with the preview. Now let's get to gamin'.

The standard open thread rules apply: no links to illegal online streams (it should available legally on ESPN3.com), no porn, no inflammatory religious or political talk, no slurs, no douchebaggery. The game is on ESPN at 6:30pm CT. Go Hawks!

You mean it's not a rule that Iowa's basketball season has to end on the Thursday of the Big Ten Tournament? Hell's bells! Why, let's see how far we can extend this season! Yes, for the first time in six (!) years -- and for the first time in the storied history of this blog -- Iowa is playing on the second day of the Big Ten Tournament. Hallelujah.

Our reward for making it past Day One of the BTT? A rematch with the Michigan State squad that beat our brains in earlier this season. So much for the hallelujahs. On paper, this looks like a terrible matchup for Iowa and a game likely to end in heartbreak. But who knows! Maybe Iowa has finally reclaimed some of that old March magic* that was in abundance when Coach [Redacted] was walking the sideline.

* NOTE: works only in Big Ten Tournament situations.

The game's on ESPN at 11am CT. The usual open thread rules apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no politics, no religion, no slurs, no douchebaggery, and so forth. Go Iowa. Michigan State is overdue for a real "SPARTY NOOOOO!" moment this year.

Iowa and Illinois went five months without playing each other in a revenue sport; now, they face off twice in two weeks. It's the Big Ten Tournament, where Iowa hasn't won a game since the 2006 final, where Illinois enters with a dead coach walking, where the tip is ridiculously early, and where quite literally anything could happen. 10:30 CST tipoff, BTN.

Standard open thread rules apply: No illegal streams, no porn, no racism, sexism, homophobia, or douchiness.

We've discussed the postseason implications, we've interrogated a jNW blogger, we've previewed the game. It's time to put all that aside and get down to business: Iowa vs. Northwestern, for all the RO*TEL.

For Iowa, the stakes are high: a win means a .500 conference record (the first in five years) and a guaranteed winning record overall (also the first in five years), locks up the 7-seed in the Big Ten Tournament next weekend, and improves Iowa's postseason hopes. For Northwestern, the stakes are even higher: a win won't clinch anything, but a loss could cripple their hopes for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. It's also Senior Day, which means it's time for CHA to say "goodbye" to Matt Gatens, Andrew Brommer, Devon Archie, and Bryce Cartwright. We'll have more about their swan songs in the next few weeks, but this is it for them in Carver -- let's send them out with a bang, just like we sent out Jarryd Cole with a stellar win against Purdue a year ago. So, yes, there's a lot riding on this game -- it's arguably the biggest game in CHA in several years.

The game's on BTN at 1:30pm CT.

The standard rules of open threading apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no religion, no politics, no slurs, no douchebaggery, etc. Go Iowa. Beat Northwestern.

When last we met, Iowa was doing something it's done with depressing regularity over the last two decades: lose a game at Assembly Hall in Champaign, IL. Now we head west for a fresh experience: playing Nebrasketball in its home environment, Lincoln, NE. The last time Iowa played Nebraska in Lincoln was the same year that America celebrated its 200th birthday: the great and glorious year of 1976. The Iowa-Nebraska basketball rivalry then went into hibernation for the next three decades, only re-emerging this year when Nebraska decided to put on its B1G boy pants.

Our first meeting went poorly: Nebraska rode a red-hot shooting effort from Cameron Richardson to a 48-point second half and a mild upset win over Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In a season with no shortage of disappointments, that certainly ranks as one of the lowest moments. Now we get a chance for revenge. Now we get a chance to move a step closer to finishing a season with an above-.500 record for the first time since 2007. Now we get a chance to keep alive our hope of playing a postseason game somewhere. Iowa's played better in the 8 games since that earlier defeat, going 4-4 and grabbing some very nice wins over Indiana and Wisconsin. Now's the time to transfer that level of play to a road game.

The game is on ESPNU at 8pm CT. (I'm not sure if it's available via ESPN3.com or not.)

The standard open threading rules apply: no links to illegal online streams, no religion, no porn, no politics, no slurs, no douchebaggery, etc. Go Iowa.

It's time for Iowa and Illinois' one and only showdown this season, at a place (Assembly Hall) where Iowa almost never wins. That's the bad news. The good news Iowa is coming off back-to-back wins over ranked teams. And, oh yeah, Matt "Matty Fresh" Gatens is suiting up for them tonight, itching to run his streak of 30-point games to three in a row. Road games have been pretty unkind to Iowa in the Big Ten -- hopefully this is a game for them to buck that trend.

The game is on BTN at 5pm. Following the game, there's an epsiode of The Journey featuring a little Iowa spotlight, too.

The usual open thread rules apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no politics, no religion, no porn, no slurs, no douchebaggery, etc.

Badger, I Eat You by Flula (via djflula)

This is Flula, the guy who wondered months ago how Daddy Longlegs makes a life. He's got it out for Badgers now, and obviously, so do we.

We've got a highly, wildly unlikely sweep of Wisconsin at stake here, and even though the Badgers are heavily favored, the game IS at Carver. Weirder things have happened.

The game is televised on ESPN2 tonight, plus simulcast on ESPN3.com, but we are still obligated to inform you that no links to unauthorized streams will be tolerated. Also, don't be racist or sexist or homophobic or otherwise prone to slurs. You guys all know that stuff by now, right? Right. Good.

5pm Sunday is a weird time for a basketball game, isn't it? Or is it just me?

Anyway, Iowa heads home today after a pair of rough road losses at jNW and Penn State. Waiting for them is... Indiana. I don't think we need to discuss what happened when these two teams played a few weeks ago. Hopefully some home cooking is what the doctor ordered for Iowa basketball.

The game is at 5pm CT on BTN.

The usual open thread rules apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no politics, no religion, no slurs, no douchebaggery, etc.

We're in the home stretch now, boys and girls. Just six more regular season games to go this season for Iowa and while Iowa may or may not have legitimate postseason aspirations, there's one goal that's well within their reach: a winning record. It's been five years since Iowa last ended the year with a record above .500 (17-14 in 2006-07), but they're 13-12 now with, at minimum, seven games remaining (six regular season games plus one game in the Big Ten Tournament). Post a winning record in those seven games and Iowa ends 2011-12 on the right side of .500. Every game left is winnable (the two most difficult remaining foes, Indiana and Wisconsin, both visit CHA), but considering that this is still the same team that lost to Clemson, Campbell, and Nebraska (all in CHA, no less), no win is assured. A win tonight would be an excellent start on the road towards finishing with a winning mark; go ahead and read my Q&A with Black Shoe Diaries from earlier today to find out a little bit more about this year's PSU team.

The game is on ESPNU at 7pm CT; it's also available on ESPN3.com if you don't get ESPNU.

The usual rules of open threading apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no religions, no politics, no slurs, and no douchebaggery. Go Iowa.