Iowa State basketball coach TJ Otzelberger envisions Cy-Hawk game remaining on future schedules
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - With all the changes coming to Iowa State, the Big 12 and college basketball, T.J. Otzelberger expects at least one thing to remain constant.
The annual Cy-Hawk game.
With the Big 12 expected to move from 18 to 20 conference games per season next year, Iowa State’s non-conference scheduling will have to adapt, but the Hawkeyes are expected to remain a part of it.
“I don’t see that changing,” the Iowa State coach told the Register on Tuesday from Big 12 media days. “It’s a game that we love and want for our fans. It’s important, I think, for our state.
“I don’t see anything from our side of things that would change with the conference schedule.”
More: Iowa State men picked in the middle of Big 12 in preseason poll
The Big 12 is likely to expand the number of league games as the conference swells to 16 members next season with the arrival of Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado from the Pac-12. That coincides with the departure of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC and follows Cincinnati, BYU, UCF and Houston arriving this season.
The Cy-Hawk game already survived one conference expansion as the Big Ten moved to a 20-game schedule for the 2018-19 season. The Big Ten has not said if it will alter its scheduling when it becomes an 18-team league next year with the arrivals of USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.
Perhaps the biggest change for Iowa State – and its fans – will be how it manages its non-conference schedule with two additional dates now spoken for by high-major opponents. Given the Cy-Hawk game, the Big 12-Big East challenge and an annual multi-team event, Iowa State’s schedule will be guaranteed to include at least 22 high-majors and as many as 25.
That likely means Hilton Coliseum will likely continue to be visited by low-major programs throughout November and December as part of Iowa State’s non-conference schedule, but it means an additional Big 12 game in Ames every year as well.
“The step to 20 games adds a competitive component to our schedule that’s going to make it that much tougher,” Otzelberger said. “What we’ve looked at (is), how do we put those other games together to give us the best chance to compete to be in the NCAA Tournament?
“Year in and year out, we’re trying to evaluate our team, the schedule and trying to piece that together. In some ways, it’s a moving target because you’re not exactly sure who you’ll play twice in league play. It’s something we’re mindful of and looking into.”
More: Iowa State men's basketball begins a new youthful chapter in 2023/24 season
The Big 12 has risen to consistently being the best basketball league in the country over the last decade not only on the strength of its programs, but because its round-robin schedule as a 10-team league allowed for home-and-homes for each program.
That goes away this season with the league at 14 members, and even a 20-game schedule will leave some scheduling imbalances. It also creates some historical disruption, like Iowa State not playing at Kansas this season for the first time since 1921.
“We're going to get away from the double round-robin, which I'm not necessarily upset about because it was really a gauntlet going through this league,” seventh-year Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton said. “It'll continue to be (a gauntlet), it's just that maybe you don't have to go to every place every year like you used to.
“You still play everybody, but the league is going to be as strong as it's ever been.”
Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa State basketball expects to keep annual Cy-Hawk game on schedule
