By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

An expanded Big Ten men’s basketball tournament will await Iowa at the end of the conference schedule.

The tournament will include all 18 teams this season, the conference announced on Thursday in the release of this season’s schedule. Only 15 teams qualified last season, with Iowa getting the final spot after winning at Nebraska in the regular-season finale.

The Hawkeyes, in their first season under coach Ben McCollum, will close with Nebraska again this season, and will open with defending champion Michigan State.

Iowa’s two games to open the season will include the December 2 game at Michigan State, the only time the Hawkeyes play the Spartans this season, and a December 6 home game against Maryland, one of the three double-plays on the Hawkeyes’ schedule.

The Hawkeyes get back into conference play on January 3 against UCLA. Iowa goes to Minnesota on January 6, then comes home for a January 11 game against Illinois.

Iowa then plays its first of two two-game road trips, going to Purdue on January 14 and Indiana on January 17. The Hawkeyes then return home for a January 20 game against Rutgers and a January 28 game against USC.

The Hawkeyes then head on their West Coast swing, playing at Oregon on February 1 and Washington on February 4.

Iowa has a three-games-in-seven-days stretch, playing host to Northwestern (February 8) and Purdue (February 14) sandwiched around a road game at Maryland (February 11), followed by a similar stretch with road games against Wisconsin (February 22) and Penn State (February 28) sandwiched around a home game with Ohio State (February 25).

Iowa closes the home portion of the schedule on March 5 against Michigan, then plays at Nebraska on March 8.

Photo: The first Big Ten game for new coach Ben McCollum will be December 2 at Michigan State, according to the conference schedule released Thursday. (Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire)