Cy-Hawk Basketball Date Set for 2026 as Iowa and Iowa State Embrace Change

Iowa is playing host to Iowa State this year for the Cy-Hawk Series, which means the 2026 version will play a large part early in this new era of Iowa basketball.

Dec 11, 2025; Ames, Iowa, USA; Iowa State Cyclones head coach T.J. Otzelberger greets Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum after the game at James H. Hilton Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-Imagn Images | Reese Strickland-Imagn Images

Last year's success of the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball program has the feeling of being an appetizer for what is yet to come.

Ben McCollum, a natural-born winner who wins anywhere he goes, is looking to prove Iowa's recent run to the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 wasn't a fluke, but closer to the standard and expectation in Iowa City.

Iowa vs. Iowa State Cy-Hawk 2026 Date

A huge part of sustained success for the Iowa Hawkeyes is dominating the state of Iowa in basketball. That starts early each season with bragging rights on the line in the Cy-Hawk Series against the Iowa State Cyclones.

With the trajectory for both of these teams pointing upward, this game feels like it is entering a revitalized era of excitement, with the 2026 date set in Iowa City.

Iowa and Iowa State will meet at Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season on Thursday, December 10th. This marks the 80th meeting between the two programs on the hardwood, and the excitement and anticipation of this year's game are likely to only increase.

The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series will be held on Thursday, December 10th, in Iowa City, per multiple sources.

It will be the 80th all-time meeting between Iowa State and Iowa on the hardwood.#B1G #BigXII

— Rocco Miller (@RoccoMiller8) June 15, 2026

The Hawkeyes hold a 48-31 all-time lead in the Cy-Hawk series, but the Iowa State Cyclones have had success, winning nine of the last 15 meetings, including the last three in a row.

The Cyclones held on at home in Ames for a 66-62 win last year, which felt like the moment Iowa started to believe in Ben McCollum as the head coach.

Trajectory of Iowa and Iowa State

Last season, the Iowa State Cyclones ended with a strong mark of 29-8, but that didn't come without a sour taste in their mouth after getting bounced from the NCAA Tournament in the Sweet 16 by Tennessee.

The Cyclones and head coach T.J. Otzelberger reloaded with five transfer portal additions this offseason. They needed to hit the portal after sharp-shooting three-point specialist Milan Momcilovic departed the program via the portal and landed with the Kentucky Wildcats.

For Iowa, this year is going to see a lot of transition. Workhorse Bennett Stirtz is gone after spending four years with Ben McCollum at multiple spots.

Like the Cyclones, the Hawkeyes hit the portal as well to replenish the guard position with Ty'Reek Coleman from Illinois State and big man Andrew McKeever from Saint Mary's.

With the NCAA Tournament expanding to 76 teams, these early-season non-conference games become that much more important an opportunity to lock up a win against an NCAA Tournament-caliber team.

If Iowa and Iowa State want to get to where they want to be, the Cy-Hawk rivalry always proves to be a good measuring stick early in the season.