Is Iowa Basketball's Schedule Ethically Manipulating NCAA Tournament Metrics?

Is Iowa up to something with its basketball schedule? The early-season slate may be manipulating metrics that change Iowa's tournament chances jump.

Mar 20, 2026; San Diego, CA, USA; The March Madness logo on the court during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Viejas Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Listen, teams can only play by the rules given to them.

Be it NIL, the transfer portal, or now even scheduling, as long as it's within the rules (which I am not sure anyone even knows what a rule is anymore), teams should push the envelope as much as they can.

That may be what the Iowa Hawkeyes are doing in an ethical way. The Hawkeyes have loaded the non-conference slate in 2026, which is going to test them and create great matchups.

It may also be manipulating some metrics tied very closely to the NCAA Tournament.

Iowa basketball's 2026 schedule is loaded to start the year

Iowa is putting itself out there against the power conferences this season. There is the annual Cy-Hawk game against Iowa State, which is a perennial NCAA Tournament-caliber team.

The Hawkeyes have added games against Virginia Tech, Creighton, and Alabama as well. The Hokies meet Iowa in Sioux City, Iowa, while Creighton and Alabama come to Des Moines, Iowa.

Is Iowa scheming the expanded NCAA Tournament?

With the NCAA Tournament moving to 76 teams, the focus on metrics tied to seeding and making the field is only going to become that much more scrutinized. Yep, get ready to learn more about quads than you ever thought possible.

Those quads play right into each team's NET rating, which is from the NCAA Evaluation Tool. And guess what? This tool just so happens to be one of the metrics the NCAA Tournament committee looks at when selecting the field.

For context, last year saw Iowa finish at No. 22 in overall NET. The Hawkeyes were 7-10 against Quad 1 teams and 5-2 against Quad 2 teams, the two groups the current non-conference slate figures to fall into.

Simply scheduling those teams, even with a loss, as long as it isn't egregious, can boost Iowa's NET rating for playing power conference teams that also carry respectable NET ratings.

So, the question is: with a 76-team NCAA Tournament, are the Iowa Hawkeyes taking an ethical approach to scheming the metrics with a loaded schedule that may not prove to be all that harmful in the end?

I don't want to assume Iowa is doing that. There is a part of me that truly believes Iowa has eyes on becoming a yearly player in the Big Ten under Ben McCollum.

That said, I know how college sports work. Would it be possible that Iowa may be playing by the rules given to them to enhance NCAA Tournament metrics before playing a game? It's 2026. Anything in college sports is possible.