Iowa Men's and Women's Basketball Teams to play at Wells Fargo Arena December 16

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Global Sports Management has announced that the University of Iowa men’s and women’s basketball teams will play a special doubleheader at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, Dec. 16. 

 

Tickets will go on sale Wednesday, May 24 at 10 a.m. central time exclusively via hyveetix.com. Maury Hanks, president of Global Sports Management, said tip-off times will be announced in the near future.

 

“We’re excited about this opportunity to present this unique doubleheader to basketball fans in central Iowa,” said Hanks. 

 

The Iowa women’s basketball team, coming off a historic season in which it won a school-record 31 games en route to a runner-up finish in the NCAA Women’s Tournament, will face Cleveland State.

 

The Iowa men’s team, one of 10 teams in the country to make the last four NCAA Tournaments, will play Florida A&M.

 

This will be the first appearance by the Iowa men’s basketball team at Wells Fargo Arena since it beat UNI, 77-54, in the 2018 Hy-Vee Big Four Classic.

 

“We look forward to returning to Des Moines for this unique event at Wells Fargo Arena, “ said Iowa men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery. “This men’s and women’s basketball doubleheader gives Hawkeye fans in central Iowa the opportunity to see both programs play close to home.”

 

This will mark the first time the Iowa women have ever played in Wells Fargo Arena.

 

“We’re excited to play in our state’s capital at Wells Fargo Arena,” said Iowa women’s basketball  coach Lisa Bluder.  “It will be another great opportunity for both the men’s and women's programs at Iowa to play in front of Hawkeye fans in Des Moines.”

 

It will be a special homecoming for three players on the Iowa teams who played high school basketball in the Des Moines area.

 

Iowa senior guard Caitlin Clark, who was the consensus women’s college basketball player of the year this past season, was a former two-time Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year at Dowling Catholic High School in West Des Moines.

 

Clark averaged 27.8 points, 8.6 assists and 7.1 rebounds this past season, leading the NCAA Division I in assists and ranking second in scoring. She set Big Ten Conference single-season records in points, assists, three-pointers and free throws, and tied her own conference record with five triple-doubles.

 

In the Final Four, Clark collected 41 points, eight assists, and six rebounds in a 77–73 upset win over undefeated defending champion South Carolina, ending their 42-game winning streak. She broke the single-game scoring record for the women's tournament semifinals and became the first player in tournament history with consecutive 40-point games.

 

Iowa junior forward Payton Sandfort, who was chosen as the Big Ten Conference Sixth Man of the Year, helped lead Waukee High School to the 2021 Iowa Class 4A state championship. Payton’s younger brother, Pryce Sandfort, will be a freshman at Iowa. Pryce was named the 2023 Mr. Iowa Basketball after guiding Waukee Northwest to runner up in the Iowa Class 4A state tournament.

 

Cleveland State posted a school-record 30-5 mark this past season while advancing to the NCAA Women’s Tournament. The Vikings, coached by native Iowan Chris Kielsmeier, won the 2023 Horizon League post-season tournament.