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21 T he University of Iowa men's basketball team accomplished something in November and December that hasn't happened in 32 seasons: winning all of its nonconference contests. Iowa went 11-0 against nonleague opponents, winning by an average of 21.2 points. It started with a 77-63 win over Missouri-Kansas City on Nov. 8 and wrapped up with a 72-67 victory over Bryant on Dec. 29. "It's pretty special," said freshmen guard Joe Wieskamp. "at's a big feat for us; 32 years is a long time, so for us to accomplish that is pretty cool. Now we need to focus on Big Ten play." ere have been a number of excellent Hawkeye basketball teams since 1987. Junior guard Jordan Bohannon said to go unbeaten and achieve something few Iowa teams have done in the modern era is special. "It's nice to be able to say that because of the alumni that came before us," said Bohannon. "ey're players we look up to. It's cool to change the way of the program a little bit." Winning the 11 games helps the team set the table for the second half of the season. Wieskamp and his teammates understand their toughest challenges are on the horizon. Two of the nonconference wins were over Oregon and Connecticut in the 2K Classic in New York City. e Hawkeyes were also 2-0 against in-state competition (98-84 over Iowa State and 77-54 over Northern Iowa). "It's good to win the nonconference games, but the conference games are what's most important," Wieskamp added. "Every team in the Big Ten is good. Everybody is going to put up a good fight against us. We are going to have to bring it every night." Iowa resumed conference competition Jan. 3 at Purdue, riding a five-game win streak. e Hawkeyes lost its first two Big Ten games in early December to Wisconsin and Michigan State, before knocking off Iowa State, Northern Iowa, Western Carolina, Savannah State, and Bryant. "We definitely have some momentum going forward, knowing that we took care of business in the nonconference and ended up undefeated," said Bohannon. "It's time to get ready for this brutal stretch we've got coming. We've got 18 Big Ten games to stay focused through every single possession." Junior forward Tyler Cook said his teammates will enjoy the feat, but the team has the mindset and approach of focusing on the next opponent on the schedule. "Moving forward, we will need to do a better job of keying in the personnel and being better on the defensive end, knowing who we're guarding," Cook said. Tickets remain for all of Iowa's remaining home games on the schedule at the Iowa Ticket Office or online at hawkeyesports.com/tickets. JANUARY SCHEDULE Jan. 6 Nebraska Jan. 9 at Northwestern Jan. 12 Ohio State Jan. 16 at Penn State Jan. 20 Illinois Jan. 24 Michigan State Jan. 27 at Minnesota