Breaking down Iowa basketball's newly released 2022-23 Big Ten schedule

For the first time in 16 years, the Iowa men's basketball team is training for a new season as the reigning Big Ten Conference tournament champions.

And now, Fran McCaffery's Hawkeyes — with high hopes centering around a veteran roster and the return of Kris Murray — know the totality of their 2022-23 road map ahead.

The Big Ten on Thursday released the 20-game conference schedules for each of the 14 teams. That brings the Hawkeyes' regular-season slate to 31 games, leading up to the March 8-12 Big Ten Tournament at the United Center in Chicago.

Iowa's draw certainly presents some unique challenges. Here's a breakdown.

A daunting (but fun) week in December: One of the biggest anomalies in this schedule is that even though Big Ten play opens on Dec. 2, the Hawkeyes won't play their conference opener until Dec. 11 vs. rival Wisconsin. That's because of an already-overbooked early-December gauntlet that includes a showdown with Duke in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 6; and the annual Cy-Hawk game vs. Iowa State on Dec. 8. So, a six-day stretch of Duke-Iowa State-Wisconsin will certainly tell us a lot about the Hawkeyes.

Back-to-back road games four times in Big Ten play: That signals a bit of a return to old-school scheduling, where teams would be home one week then on the road for two games the next. There will be a 20-day stretch in February where Iowa has four road games but just one at home (Ohio State on Feb. 16).

Two Saturday conference home games: The sweet spot for big crowds is Saturday afternoon. We don't know game times yet (give it a few weeks), but we do know that Iowa will host Illinois on Feb. 4 and Michigan State on Feb. 25. Those matchups, especially the one against Illinois, are always heated. It's too bad the Big Ten can't deliver more Saturday home opportunities for its members, but understandably TV networks have the ultimate say. (Iowa does have four Sunday home games in Big Ten play, including the Wisconsin opener and regular-season finale, March 5 vs. Nebraska. Hopefully many of those are early-afternoon tip-offs.)

A few holiday games of sorts: Iowa will play on New Year's Day for the first time since Jan. 1, 2017, when it travels to Penn State. The Hawkeyes are also scheduled to play on Super Bowl Sunday for the fourth straight season (and sixth time in eight years) as they visit Minnesota on Feb. 12.

The degree of difficulty increases over time: The Hawkeyes need to get off to a good start if they hope to be in contention for their first regular-season Big Ten title since 1978-79. Of the first eight games, five are at home and the road opponents are manageable (Nebraska, Penn State and Rutgers). But after playing three straight home games in mid-January vs. Michigan, Maryland and Northwestern, the Hawkeyes play seven of their next 11 on the road in some of the toughest league venues — Ohio State, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin and Indiana among them.

Iowa's 2022-23 men's basketball schedule

Monday, Oct. 31: vs. Truman State (exhibition)

Monday, Nov. 7: vs. Bethune Cookman

Friday, Nov. 11: vs. North Carolina A&T

Wednesday, Nov. 16: at Seton Hall (Gavitt Tipoff Games)

Monday, Nov. 21: vs. Omaha

Friday, Nov. 25: vs. Clemson in Niceville, Fla. (Emerald Coast Classic), 6 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 26: vs. California or TCU in Niceville, Fla.

Tuesday, Nov. 29: vs. Georgia Tech (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)

Tuesday, Dec. 6: vs. Duke in New York City (Jimmy V Classic), 8:30 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 8: vs. Iowa State

Sunday, Dec. 11: vs. Wisconsin

Saturday, Dec. 17: vs. Southeast Missouri State

Wednesday, Dec. 21: vs. Eastern Illinois

Thursday, Dec. 29: at Nebraska

Sunday, Jan. 1: at Penn State

Thursday, Jan. 5: vs. Indiana

Sunday, Jan. 8: at Rutgers

Thursday, Jan. 12: vs. Michigan

Sunday, Jan. 15: vs. Maryland

Wednesday, Jan. 18: vs. Northwestern

Saturday, Jan. 21: at Ohio State

Thursday, Jan. 26: at Michigan State

Sunday, Jan. 29: vs. Rutgers

Saturday, Feb. 4: vs. Illinois

Thursday, Feb. 9: at Purdue

Sunday, Feb. 12: at Minnesota

Thursday, Feb. 16: vs. Ohio State

Sunday, Feb. 19: at Northwestern

Wednesday, Feb. 22: at Wisconsin

Saturday, Feb. 25: vs. Michigan State

Tuesday, Feb. 28: at Indiana

Sunday, March 5: vs. Nebraska

Wednesday-Sunday, March 8-12: Big Ten Tournament in Chicago