Iowa Men's Basketball to play Bucknell Bison at Wells Fargo Arena December 20

KNOXVILLE, TENN. — Global Sports Management has announced that the University of Iowa men’s basketball team will play Bucknell University at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, Saturday, Dec. 20. 

 

Tickets will go on sale Friday, June 6 at 11 a.m. central time exclusively via hyveetix.com. Maury Hanks, president of Global Sports Management, said the tip-off time will be announced in the future.

 

“We are excited to bring our team to Wells Fargo Arena in December to showcase our players to our fan base in the Des Moines metro area,” said Iowa head coach Ben McCollum. “This is a great opportunity to play a strong Bucknell team on a neutral court and to continue to build excitement for our program.” 

 

It will be a special return to Des Moines for five players on the Iowa team. Senior guard Bennett Stirtz is a first-year transfer from Drake where he led the Bulldogs to both the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and post-season tournament titles en route to being named the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year. Guard Kael Combs, forward Tavion Banks, guard Isaia Howard, and forward Cam Manyawu also were key members of the Drake team last year.

 

Iowa freshman center Trevin Jirak was named 2025 Iowa Mr. Basketball after leading Valley High School of West Des Moines to its third straight Iowa Class 4A state championships.

 

Bucknell was co-regular season champions of the Patriot League in 2024-25, posting a 13-5 record along with an 18-15 overall mark. The Bison are led by third-year head coach John Griffin III, who is a 2008 Bucknell graduate and was a guard on Bucknell's 2005 and 2006 championship teams that won NCAA Tournament first-round games over Kansas and Arkansas.

 

Bucknell senior starting forward Ruot Bijiek earned second team Iowa Class 4A all-state honors at Valley High School in West Des Moines, setting a school single-game scoring record with 40 points.