Trust me, it only seems like it's been a year since Iowa played a basketball game. It's actually just been nine days. Which is still a pretty long time, really. Anyway, they return to action this evening with a home game against the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Big Ten debutants have had a somewhat rocky go of things in their inaugural trip through the Big Ten schedule, going 2-6 so far. One of their wins was over a good Indiana team, though, and they've been frisky in several of their losses (including road games at Wisconsin and Illinois), so it would be a mistake to assume that they'll be an automatic pushover (there are no automatic pushovers in the league this year, frankly). Hopefully nine days of rest has the Iowa players rested and ready for action (and not rusty).
The game tips at 6pm CT and for the first time since the ill-fated Clemson game in December, Iowa is back on the ESPN family of networks: ESPNU to be precise. I am not sure if the game is also on ESPN3.com; ESPNU games occasionally aren't.
The standard open thread rules apply: no links to illegal online streams, no porn, no religion, no politics, no slurs, no douchebaggery. After the basketball festivities are done, feel free to use this as your Hamsterdam thread for the evening.
Go Iowa. Beat Nebraska.