By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

Iowa’s men’s basketball team will start a two-year neutral-court series with Alabama, beginning with a December 21 game at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines.

The Hawkeyes will play two games at the Casey’s Center this season. A November 15 game against Creighton was announced in the spring.

“These neutral site games create a unique opportunity to play marquee opponents while bringing Hawkeye basketball directly to our fans across Iowa,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to have multiple opportunities to play in-state during the 2026-27 season, starting with our return to the Casey’s Center. Combined with our plan for an 18-game home schedule that includes 10 conference contests and Iowa State, it’s an exciting year for our program and our fans.”

The Hawkeyes will return the game in the 2027-28 season, facing the Crimson Tide in Mobile, Alabama.

The game will be a matchup of two teams that reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in March. Alabama, which went 25-10 last season and finished second in the Southeastern Conference, reached the regional semifinals before losing to eventual national champion Michigan. Iowa, which went 24-13, advanced the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987, losing to Illinois in the South Regional final in Houston.

The meeting will be the third all-time between the two programs and the first since 2010.  The two teams have split the previous two meetings that were both played in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. 

The Hawkeyes went 2-0 against Southeastern Conference opponents last season, McCollum’s first as Iowa’s head coach. Iowa defeated Ole Miss in the Acrisure Classic in San Diego, and defeated No. 1 seed Florida in the NCAA Tournament second round.

Photo: Ben McCollum and Iowa have secured a two-year neutral-court series with Alabama. (Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)