Iowa basketball schedule: Hawkeyes to meet Xavier in November

After Iowa basketball hosted Xavier last season at Carver-Hawkeye Arena for an eventual 81-62 victory, the Hawkeyes are scheduled to visit the Musketeers this season as part of their nonconference schedule in November. It’s the second part of the two programs’ home-and-home series that was revealed in April of 2025.

The Musketeers are coming off a 15-18 (6-14 Big East) season in Richard Pitino’s first year at Xavier. Xavier’s 6-14 conference record was tied with Georgetown for the worst mark in the Big East.

Xavier released its nonconference schedule this week, revealing that Iowa is slated to visit the Cintas Center on Nov. 20.

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— Xavier Basketball (@XavierMBB) July 22, 2026

Bennett Stirtz led the way in Iowa’s win over Xavier last season, scoring 21 points. Hawkeye returnees Kael Combs scored 11 points, Cam Manyawu nine and Tate Sage eight in the victory over the Musketeers.

Xavier joins a list of Iowa nonconference opponents that includes Virginia Tech, Iowa State, Creighton, Alabama and South Dakota.

Xavier welcomes back junior forward Jovan Milićević, who was second on the team in scoring last year at 12.4 points per game and reached double figures 22 times. Redshirt sophomore Gabriel Pozzato, who sat out last season due to injury, made the 2024-25 Missouri Valley Conference All-Freshman Team after averaging 14.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in his one season at Evansville.

Xavier added a group of seven transfers to the 2026-27 roster, including guard Chance Westry, who averaged 15.5 points per game at UAB and earned American Conference Second Team honors last season. Mike Nwoko comes over after averaging 13.4 points per game at LSU. Guard Tru Washington joins Xavier as well following his 11.9 points per game last season at Miami (Fla.)

Fellow transfer and senior Rubén Dominguez shot 40% from 3-point range (fifth in the SEC) last season at Texas A&M.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball schedule: Hawkeyes to meet Xavier in November