There is a lot of hype surrounding this Iowa basketball team. The #5 preseason ranking is Iowa's highest preseason position in in 65 years.

Unfortunately, there is also a lot or reluctance to buy into the notion that the 2020-21 NCAA college basketball season will see completion because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.

Carver Hawkeye Arena is not letting fans into the games, yet. But I am fortunate enough to be able to cover this game for ESPN 1170AM. I am not going to pass up this opportunity to see this talented Iowa Hawkeyes basketball team.

I don't care who they are playing-- I am going to be there as long as the university allows me to. I don't care if they play North Carolina Central, the Charolette Bobcats, or the Tree Hill Ravens. I am going to be there. So follow along with me on Twitter @QCHassle or @ESPN1170AM for game updates, notes, and observations.

Here is some Iowa Hawkeyes basketball notes...

IOWA HAWKEYES BASKETBALL

Iowa has won nine straight season openers dating back to the 2011-12 season.
Iowa is looking to add to it's 8 B1G Championships, 2 B1G Tournament titles and 3 Final Fours.
Iowa is a -27.5 favorite and the Over/Under is currently 145.5.
Luka Garza is the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, preseason unanimous All- American, as well as the preseason favorite to win National Player of the Year in 2021.
Luka Garza (23.9) and Joe Wieskamp (14.0) combined to average 37.9 points per game, which was the fifth best scoring duo in the country in 2019-20. Garza and Wieskamp combined for 1,175 points, the third highest scoring duo in program history.
Garza (740 points and 305 rebounds) is one of three Big Ten players to ever total 740+ points and 300+ rebounds in a single-season (Purdue’s Glenn Robinson in 1994 and Purdue’s Joe Barry Carroll in 1979).
Joe Toussaint started Iowa’s last 20 games after coming off the bench the first 11 contests as a freshman in 2019-20. He was first on the squad in steals per game (1.15), second in assists (2.9) and fifth among active players in scoring (6.5).
The Iowa basketball program welcome five freshmen to the 2020-21 roster: Keegan Murray, Kris Murray, Josh Ogundele, Tony Perkins, and Ahron Ulis.

North Carolina Central

Iowa has played North Carolina Central only once before. The Hawkeyes beat NCCU (73-63) in 2009.
North Carolina Central is located in Durham, North Carolina, and compete in the Mid- Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Last season, the Eagles went 18-13 overall and 13-3 in league play. The Eagles were undefeated at home (12-0) but went 5-13 on the road. NCCU finished last year on a six-game win streak and were set to play in the MEAC conference tournament semifinal as the No. 1 seed before the season was canceled.
NCCU loses two of its starters and two of its top three scorers from last season, including last year’s MEAC Player of the Year, Jibri Blount. The Eagles’ top returner is guard C.J. Keyser, who scored 11.6 points per game and 15.8 per game in conference play, while shooting 41.5 percent behind the 3-point arc.

The game can be heard on Hawkeye Sports radio and will be televised on the B1G Network.