Iowa Hoops Notebook: ACC/B1G Swan Song

Hawkeyes Play Host to Georgia Tech in Final Installment of Long-Running Challenge

Iowa players huddle before a game against Purdue on Dec. 3, 2021 at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Ind. (Rob Howe/HawkFanatic.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Iowa’s game on Tuesday against Georgia Tech will be the last ACC/Big Ten Challenge game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

The series, which began in 1999, is being discontinued after this season by ESPN. The ESPN networks will no longer have the rights to Big Ten games at the end of this season.

Iowa is 9-12 all-time in the series, but has won seven of the last nine games.

“You know, I don't know that I feel strongly one way or the other,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said at his Monday press conference. “It was something that I think we appreciated, and we have great respect for that conference, and the series was competitive.

“I think it provided what we were looking for at the time. You had marquee matchups early in the season, but there's any number of different ways you can accomplish that task.”

Iowa is playing three ACC teams in the nonconference schedule. The Hawkeyes defeated Clemson last Friday in the Emerald Coast Classic, and play Duke next Tuesday in the Jimmy V Classic in New York.

The Big Ten has a similar “challenge” series with the Big East in the Gavitt Games — Iowa won at Seton Hall this season.

The Big Ten’s new TV deals with FOX, CBS and NBC begin next season. The conference is also expanding with USC and UCLA joining the league in 2024.

“We'll find some good teams to play,” McCaffery said. “Won't be a problem. Who knows how many (Big Ten) games we're going to end up playing down the road. Everything is changing.”

THE FIRST LOSS: Iowa is coming off its first loss of the season, a 79-66 defeat to TCU in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game on Saturday night.

The Hawkeyes shot 42.6 percent for the game, 34 percent in the second half. They were 3-of-17 in 3-pointers.

“We did some good things in that game,” McCaffery said. “It got away from us there in the second half, and I thought our decision making in terms of shot selection and so forth wasn't what it needed to be. Probably needed some longer possessions.

“But I thought we had some guys that I thought played well. Some guys didn't play well. It's one game, and we're on to the next.”

PERKINS FEELING BETTER: Guard Tony Perkins yawned when he met with the media.

He wasn’t bored, just tired.

“School just started back today so I'm still doing some work,” Perkins said, smiling. “Other than that, I’m tired, but you’ve got to get back to work. I'm feeling good as always.”

Perkins missed last Monday’s game with Omaha with a thigh injury, but played 21 minutes in each of the two Emerald Coast Classic games.

Perkins said he suffered the injury during the win over Seton Hall, “but my adrenaline got me through it,” he said.

“It started kind of getting worse but it wasn't really serious,” Perkins said. “But now it's starting to get better. Just rested it and did more stretching. Just been taking care of it.”

“I thought from a health perspective he looked like himself,” McCaffery said. “He didn't look like he was struggling with his explosiveness or his athletic power. I think he was sore, and I was pretty pleased with the fact that he could play back-to-back (games). I was concerned about that, quite honestly, could he go back-to-back and still be effective.

“He'll go through some stuff today. He came through it OK. I think he'll be fine for tomorrow.”