Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - GAMECHANGERS? Iowa Football Lands Anthony Hawkins & Eli Ozick, TRANSFORM Portal Strategy

Episode Date: January 5, 2026

Iowa Hawkeyes secure two major transfer portal commitments as Trent Condon explores how these additions—Villanova DB Anthony Hawkins and North Dakota State kicker Eli Ozick—could reshape Iowa football’s 2026 roster. With roster limits and culture fit guiding every move, the podcast questions whether Kirk Ferentz’s selective portal strategy will strengthen the team’s core. Can new faces at defensive tackle, wide receiver, and running back fill key gaps and boost Iowa’s Big Ten standing?Trent Condon recaps Iowa basketball’s gritty 74-61 win over UCLA at Carver Hawkeye Arena, highlighting Bennett Sturtson’s clutch 27-point night and the Hawkeyes’ evolving game plan under Coach Ben McCollum. The episode also previews pivotal matchups against Minnesota and Illinois, analyzes the energized fan atmosphere in Iowa City, and dissects the women’s basketball schedule as Caitlin Clark leads the charge. Stay tuned for insight on upcoming portal targets, expert recruiting perspectives, and what’s next for Hawkeye athleticsFollow Trent Condon on X: https://twitter.com/trentcondonLISTEN TO THE PODCAST: APPLE: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/locked-on-hawkeyes-daily-podcast-on-iowa-hawkeyes-football/id1441592240SPOTIFY: https://open.spotify.com/show/0GTyz5ygevcGXdTF6QSoEoYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LockedOnHawkeyesEverydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Rocket MoneyLet Rocket Money help you reach your financial goals faster. Join at http://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDONGametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONCOLLEGE for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.RugietIf you’ve been thinking about taking the next step, now’s the time.Head to https://Rugiet.com/LOCKEDONCOLLEGE to get 15% off your order for a limited time.Rugiet Ready. Feel present. Feel confident. Feel ready. FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The transfer football portal is open and Iowa has already landed two commitments, two big ones for Iowa football in 2026. Plus Iowa hoop shows that they can win in different ways. We break it down today. Locked on Hawkeye. You are Locked on Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Ben, I'm Trent Condon, and this is the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast.

Thanks for making Lockdown Hawkeyes, your first listen every day. Part of the Lockdown Network, your team every day, now number one for sports podcasts. I've been covering the Hawkeyes for over 20 years on the radio. You can hear me currently on the Iowa Sports Radio Network with stations all across the state, Sioux City, the Quad Cities, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and our flagship 106.3 KX&O in Des Moines. You can hear me each weekday from noon to two. Today's episode of Lockdown Hawkeyes is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code Lockdown College for $20 off, your first purchase.

Today, we got a lot to get into from the weekend that was, including a trip for me over to Carver Hawkeye Arena to see Ben McCollum squad in action. Took my kindergartner over there, had a great time as Iowa gets the win. We'll talk about the environment and we'll talk about how Iowa got it done. A rough second half at times, but a nice win against UCLA and one that. that shows that Iowa can win in a myriad of different ways. But we talk a lot of portal. We're going to talk about some of the prospects that are still out there, some of the big names that Iowa is involved with.

And guys that certainly make a lot of sense for Iowa football. But before that, let's get into the commitments as Iowa has landed two football commitments for this class in the transfer portal in the opening weekend of things. And this thing's going to be hot and heavy, this two-week sprint that we have in front of us, trying to fill in the pieces, figure things out. And I think another thing we need to realize is we go back a couple of years ago, Iowa brought in that big class with 13 guys that they got from the transfer portal, bigger than I think you'd normally anticipate from Iowa.

And that number certainly dwindled down a year ago. But with this new window, you also have to put in context the way this is set up now for Iowa football and the roster limits that are in place. A year ago at this time, they were still trying to figure out what was going to happen to the walk-ons. How many of those guys were they going to be able to keep? And, you know, Iowa did the right thing. They worked for the guys that they didn't have spots for in that 105 roster limit that was put in place by the NCAA. And then it was walked back.

But they did the right thing. And with that, you had some guys that are there. Well, now you don't have the same kind of roster flexibility that you had in the past. Yes, you had 85 scholarships that you were able to give out and then all the walk-ons that went on top of it. But Iowa, there were years that they had 120, 125. of players on the roster and not the case anymore. And that leads to, you have to be a little bit more selective, certainly in this process than they were a couple of years ago

when they brought in that big hall. You look at what Tyler Barnes, the Iowa GM is doing currently. You look at the follows that he has on Twitter when he's following different guys out there. And you're going to see at this point in time, definitely targeting the middle of the defense, defensive tackle at the forefront of things. We're going to talk about one of those de-tackles coming up.

looking at wide receiver. Those are two positions, I think, of the highest need that they get. But let's get into first the commitments from the weekend as we come to you here late on Sunday night. Starting with the first commitment that they got out of the portal, Anthony Hawkins, a defensive back from Villanova. Now, this is a guy that has some versatility. I think likely targeted, though, as a safety, but did play a little bit of cornerback at Villanova. Good size, six foot three, kind of that lengthier frame. He looks very much like his. Xavier Wapah type of back there. And you just think now of that safety group that they have.

And after losing Kail Kalerick to the transfer portal, a guy that I think some people anticipated at minimum was going to maybe have a chance to get some snaps this season defensively. We did see him a little bit. And of course, the special team stalwart that he turned into. But with Anthony Hawkins, they get a guy with that position flexibility.

And speaking of flexibility, and this is something that has been so big for Phil Parker throughout the years is having those guys that can, do a myriad of different things. And after the bringing in the cash position and moving away from the traditional 4-3 defense and going to this 4-25 look that they're employing with the four-down linemen, now two linebackers and five defensive backs, the cash position's been so interesting because we've seen them do it with different body types. They've had the big bruising type. They've had the more like your athletic guy. I mean, you go through and you look at the

different players that have played this position. And all of them, have taken it then. I go back to Las Vegas out there for Big Ten football media days and talking to Coing Entringer, who we thought maybe was going to be that guy at Cash and we see him back at the safety position. But he was a guy that

understood kind of the way that it was set up, understood what that position means for the Iowa defense. And he was ready to take over the role. If that was the case, if that was the way things were going to play out. Lentringer's back. And now, Zach Lutmer's back. And

And on top of it, you add Anthony Hawkins to the mix, coupled with what we saw from some of those young defensive guys. Deshawn Lee, he's going to be back and really had a lot of growth at quarterback. I thought this season. And then what we saw late in the year, a guy like Rashad Godfrey that came in and the ability that he had. Watson, what he was able to do late in the season and playing in the bowl game. So I think we got to see enough out of those guys. And certainly with Godfrey, I think he's a guy that has that position flexibility. maybe he does turn out to be a guy that turns into maybe a safety top type.

But regardless of all that, a really good one and excited with the versatility that they get with the guy like Hawkins that's going to come in there and he could tell. They brought him in for a visit right away. This was, I'm sure, somebody that was towards the top of the wish list for Phil Parker and the rest of the staff. Anthony Hawkins is a hawk. And how about that? The second one is incredibly important.

And that is Eli Ozick who comes in from North Dakota. State. Good numbers at North Dakota State hit a 50 plus yarder, only missed two field goals a year ago, 16 of 18 in his field goal attempts. He is the heir apparent to Drew Stevens. He will have obviously the upper hand you'd anticipate for that one, a guy that comes in with experience at the collegiate level at North Dakota State. Also love that he's coming from a program like that. He's coming from a program that, no, they're not playing in front of 80,000 fans at a stadium. or anything like that. Still, North Dakota State, year and a year out,

they're playing in big games. They're playing in important games. And there are pressure situations that certainly Oza Kassine throughout the course of his two-year career at North Dakota State. Good leg, solid, and a good replacement. Another one that he was on a visit. He was at Carver on Saturday. You could tell this was another one that they were working to set up right away.

This is something that they wanted to have figure out. And as we talked about on the last podcast, special teams is going to look a whole lot different. LeVar Woods departing. Reese Dakin, who is now going to Michigan State, he is departed. You need to find a new punter, at least getting this first one out of the way with your kicker, the importance of kicker at the University of Iowa. This was a big one, certainly for the Hawkeyes and be able to go out there and get them.

So two commitments here, and we got other things to get into. And that includes some other other targets that are there. Now, Kamari Brown, the Elon defensive end. It was also in on a visit. No word yet on him sitting here on Sunday evening about a commitment. He's still got a couple other visits set up. But good to get a couple of guys already in the fold. Again, we're talking about a two-week sprint here to get this all done.

Let's talk about a couple of the other prospects that Iowa is still looking at. I think some of the other guys towards the top of their wish list. Let's start a wide receiver and a couple of guys that stand out. We talked about this guy a little bit earlier later in the week last week. Every day, as you certainly will know that Tony Diaz, a guy. down at U.T. Rio Grand Valley wide receiver. More of that slot type, kind of an inside guy, but a lot of other programs, big offers that are after him.

Tony Diaz, though, sounds like Iowa, working to get him in and seeing an opportunity, obviously, for him to come in right away and help out that wide receiver group and a different body type than what they have returning with Reese Vandersi, with the return of Dayton Howard, getting that smaller, quicker type of wide receiver out there. Another one, though, that I think is incredibly intriguing is Cade Wolford.

So Wolfford, Ohio kid out there playing in the Mac, had decent season here as a redshirt freshman this year, but he looks like a Caden Weegean replacement. The kick return that he has a return ability that he's already shown in his young career, got a lot of eligibility. But the thing I love about him, had a ton of rushing touchdowns at the high school level. He is that Swiss Army knife. He can run it. He can catch it.

He can do a lot of different. things. We saw what they tried to do with Weech in here these last couple of years and looks like somebody else that could fill that role. Another important one, though, when you talk about the return game and what that means for Iowa. A couple other names for you at defensive tackle. One, Khalil Potit, who is out making the transfer portal entering from Temple year of eligibility. Obviously, the departure of Aaron Graves, who moves on. Jonah Pace came in this year. I thought he did a pretty decent job of filling that role. Hawthorne, who'll be back this season, but they're looking and looking for bodies at defensive tackle.

And now talk about a neat position along with wide receiver. I think DT is definitely towards the top of that one. Another defensive tackle, Bryce Stevenson from Holy Cross. His dad played at Florida State has been a Holy Cross, just one year of eligibility for him. Good size, though, 6-2, 300 pounds. Come in there, that would be a big one as well. And then a couple other names. Two more for you in the portal that I think are intriguing.

Parker Knudson, Southwest Missouri. Missouri State, playing at the D2 level, highly, highly productive during his collegiate. He's a safety type defense back. You do wonder with the commitment of Anthony Hawkins, though, if that changes things for Kadootson, just one to keep an eye on. And then finally, they do have a look at a running back, really productive guy, Evan Dickens from Liberty. Liberty played in a BCS level bowl game a couple years ago.

Good program. Took a big step back, though, from what they had been. this season. Still, Dickens was incredibly important and a big, big numbers that he put up this past season. We've already talked about the depart departures at the running back position. T.J. Washington moving on, just couldn't find a role. Jassy on Patterson, he's going to move on. I think he's going to do a good job wherever he ends up. But depth, maybe starting to thin out a little bit. Certainly if there's another one, got to be looking there, but this could change things. and he do wonder if there are other departures at the running back spot

if Iowa goes a little bit bigger fish. That's been the case here. We haven't seen any of those big names. And I don't know if there will be. It's not just going out there and acquiring talent. I think any of us that follow every, Iowa football, and I'm sure most everybody that is watching and listening does, you know the way that they operate.

And you can be upset about it. You can be frustrated. You can want more and you can want different. But let's live in reality. And the reality is that it's not just about talent, you also have to fit the culture. And if you don't fit the culture, you're not going to be there. And maybe more importantly, you're not going to last.

Fit has to matter. I know a lot of people are already hoping Ian Strong, who we saw in that game against Rutgers, he's entered the portal, big-time wide receiver, that he's going to make his way to Iowa seat. Or at minimum, make a visit. We haven't seen that yet. Iowa has not been involved with those type of guys

coming from the Power 4 conference level. Can that still happen? Absolutely. It's a two-week, absolute craziness going on, and we got you covered here, locked on Hawkeyes. Let's talk some hoops. Saturday, great environment over at Carver Hawkeye Arena. So excited, I was able to get over there with my little guy.

We'll talk a little bit about the experience. Talk about more importantly, though, the Iowa win as they get it done against UCLA, a big one. 13-point victory in the end against the Bruins. That's as we continue, Locked on Hawkeyes. Friday's always feel different during basketball season, and Fandual is making them even better. Every Friday night before the games tip off, Fandual gives fans a new way to kick off the weekend with NBA Happy Hour. NBA Happy Hour is your official pregame, a limited time window where special offers drop right inside the Fandual app right before the action start.

Checked it out last Friday, absolutely awesome. So many great ideas in there. There's some bonuses in there. surprises for you. It goes on Fridays from 5 o'clock to 6.30 central time. That's 6 to 7.30 Eastern. It's appointment viewing for MBA happy hour. It's easy to check out the weekly special before tip-off and make a move before the window closes. And the timing's perfect, right before the games, right before the weekend start. So before tip-off, check out the Fandual app and see what's dropping during NBA Happy Hour every Friday from 6 to 730 Eastern.

in five to six 30 central time got you cover with basketball and it's not just for the NBA they got you covered as we come down the stretch here for the final couple of college football games obviously the playoffs getting ready the tournament starting up in the NFL and they got you covered with all the Hawkeye basketball on the Fandual app little basketball little action and a whole lot of Friday energy that's NBA happy hour only on Fandual the official sportsbook partner of the NBA Trent, kind of back with you here on the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. Thanks for being with us and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day.

Let's go to Carver on Saturday. Iowa gets the win against UCLA 74-261. Another tremendous performance out of Bennett Sturtson. The capper at the horn with five seconds remaining in the game, splash it in the 26-footer as would have been a shot-clock violation. peek over at Coach McCollum. He said fire it up. He fires it up. And Sturtz knocks down the three-pointer finishes with 27 points, four rebounds, five assists, a couple of steals in the game. And he did it while battling foul trouble. Maybe the most eye-opening aspect of the box score is seeing Bennett

starts only playing 35 minutes in a game like this. Well, the reason was because of foul trouble. And it was interesting as they were coming down the closing stretch inside of the last eight minutes and I see him over the bench and I see a whistle and he's still sitting over there. Being at the game, I don't have my box score. I got my kindergartner with me. So not quite as engaged into the numbers as I normally am. What's going on here? Now, I was concerned maybe there was some kind of injury or something like that.

Obviously, that was not the case, but your mind starts to race a little bit. Came back in, though, was able to do it. And I thought it was interesting after the game that Iowa coach Ben McCollum mentioned that He wanted to put him back in there with the four fouls with like eight minutes to go and the assistant coach is over in him. And that's the right move. That's the right move.

You have to have him in the game. A couple other aspects of this one at the top of my notes. Not going to look great overall in the box score, but I thought Cooper Cotch was really good again. Had a couple of three-pointers. He's got to knock those down. Look, we can't get too upset about a guy that shooting, what, 45% from the three point line.

What he misses a couple, had a couple of good looks and including a one or two in the second half that just got to knock those down. Overall, until that starts three-pointer with five seconds left, I was 0.9 from the three-point line in the second half after Fool Garrison Company really got going in the first half and we're knocking down three-pointers. But back to Cooper Koch, I thought what we see out of him and they continue growth on the defensive end of the floor. There were a couple of hedges.

I thought he was tremendous. a couple of times he got switched on Donovan Dent and don't look out of place where at the beginning of the season he would have looked out of place against Donovan Dent and I told you, Donovan Dent, that dude's a stud coming in for New Mexico for UCLA this season. Still, though it doesn't show up in the box score,

I thought Cooper Coucho was really good, really active and did a lot of good things for them overall in the game. Kilcum struggled. And one thing that I would like to see is when you have those performances miss both ends of a couple of free throws had a couple of just careless turnovers

one that I thought really started to get the run going for UCLA there during the second half is if it's a game like that relying even more on Isaiah Howard. Now I know Howard played 29 minutes in the game and he was really good and when Sturts isn't in there and if Combs doesn't have it

they just don't have a ton of guys that can just do it off the bounce like he can another thing that I love to see and I mentioned fool Garris and knocking out the three, three-pointers in the first half. But they were really going through him, and really the offense was going through him when Sturts wasn't in the game.

They were getting to him out there on the extended elbow, doing some things on the side post, doing different factors with Fulgaris, that he's such a smart player, really, really talented. Another, talk about some of that carelessness. We saw from Combs. There were times I thought we got the same thing out of Fulgaris, but as we mentioned before,

if this team is going to take a big step, and this is going to be a team that has a chance to advance. Get past the round of 32 this season. Fool Garris is going to be a big, big part of that. Tate Sage had a couple opportunities, did a couple of good things, too. He's another guy that could do things off the bounce, but definitely tighten up the rotation. Just eight guys see action there.

Didn't see any Brendan Hassan, didn't see any Trevor Urock in this one. It was going with the dudes. And that eight-man rotation as they get the victory. What I'd like about this game, though, One of the biggest aspects that really jumped off is just being able to win this one. You're up 40, what was it, 40 to 17? At one point, yeah, it has a 5-0 run to end the first half, 40-22 at the half. They come out defensive intensity by UCLA ratcheted up.

And I was able to find a way and able to find a way with Bennett starts having to sit for a little bit. This is another one of those growth, the growth aspect out of this squad. Here's another thing that Ben McCullough mentioned after the game. And it was that these guys had plenty of opportunities. These guys had other places that they could have gone. And he talked about the environment. And that's where I want to go next. And being back in Carver.

And a year ago, took the boy's trip over with me and my son. It was the first time just us two had gone. He'd gone a couple of times as a real little guy. But this was the first time. It was just me and him, dad and the guy going over. and went to the Michigan State game. And in fact, speaking of Cooper Cotch earlier, Dad J.R. was just a couple of rows in front of us.

And as we're watching that one, the crowd was okay. The crowd felt different on Saturday. And the crowd felt different than it has a while for Iowa basketball. Every dayers, you certainly know that I defended Fran at different times. There were also things that drove me nuts, the two foul rule in the first half, the usage of timeouts, the refusal at times to call a timeout instead of what it was a 6-0-0-spert turned into a 12-0-0-run,

but that aside. Fray McAfrey did some good things. But I think for so many people, the program had stagnated. And to get back a coach that definitely loves Iowa, a coach that knows what he's doing on both ends of the floor, that is just that new blood. It has brought this new sense to the fan base. And in today's environment where people have so many options

and where it's so easy just to flip on the TV and start times are all over the place. And it's not like it was in the 80s when I was growing up and he knew that Iowa was playing on Thursday night and they're playing again on Saturday and that was that. And that's not the case anymore. You don't know if the game's going to start at 7 or 7.30 or 6 or 5. It's different.

I understand that. And Iowa women's basketball has got a big chunk of the fan base. And Iowa wrestling is still there every single time. People have a lot more entertainment options than they did back then. Back when the Lude Olson formed the Iowa basketball network across the state and what we saw in terms of just those numbers, huge numbers, that they got television-wise. It's a different world.

But the fan base is there. And having a game like that where it was fun and it was energized. And you got a guy on the sideline of Ben McA, call him that wants to not just be their coaching, but wants to re-engage this fan base. Great win, great environment, really enjoyed it. Little guy got a Carvercone. He was pumped up about that. He got his stuffed herky.

He was also pumped up about that. And now that he's got his little guy that he sleeps with it in the evening. He likes that as well as he's got his herky with him that he struggled with every single night. But great environment, really enjoyed it. Carver love to see what they're working to do. They did that without the students, obviously. Students will be coming back here pretty soon. And speaking of the students coming back.

That's what we're going to talk about next is taking this to another level. Because I was got one coming up this week that could be huge. Huge not just for this team and pecking order in the Big Ten and seating in the Big Ten tournament, the like. But maybe going forward. Big week for Iowa basketball. We'll talk about it. And what's ahead this week here on Locked on Hawkeyes as we have a start time. Sunday, Iowa, Illinois, and what could be one of the bigger games we've seen for men's basketball

at Carver Hawkeye Arena in quite a while. We'll talk about that on the other side of Lockdown Hawkeyes. There's nothing like college football season, though it is dwindling down, just three games to go. The tailgates pack stadiums and being right there in the middle of it all. The energy, the bands, the moments you were. remember forever. But actually getting tickets, that part used to be frustrating with long cues, logins and prices jumping at checkout. That's why game time gives the advantage back to fans. It's the easiest way to unlock amazing college tickets and experiences and just a few taps.

I opened the Game Time app. In fact, I did it for the game against UCLA. Got a couple of tickets for us, 20 rows up. Great price. And I loved that I knew exactly what I was paying. No surprise fees in the Game Time app. Up front pricing knows exactly. what it was going to be. There's also a spot I haven't been in Carver in a long time. Well, I got to see exactly what our view is going to be. And also the view for my six-year-old son. Yeah, that's important.

And you can see your view from the seat on the GameTime app. Take the guess we're going to buying college tickets with GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account and use code locked on college for $20 off. Your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that's code Locked on College, L-O-C-E-D-O-N-C-O-L-L-E-G for $20 off. Download the GameTime app today. Frankana back with you one final time here. Locked-on Hawkeyes. Thanks for being with us

and making Lockdown Hawkeyes your first listen every day. If you haven't already, make sure you go check out our new Everydayer Club. It's an opportunity for you to get ad-free Locked-on Hawkeyes. It works with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, all the major podcasts apps that are out there. We also have a member's only Discord server, And we're going to be doing some game watches with you. We're going to be sitting watching the games together. That is available for people in our everyday club. Go check it out right now, locked on hawkeyes.

Dot supercast.com. See if that's something for you. Add free episodes of Lockdown Hawkeyes. As we wrap things up, the week ahead. So the start time has been announced for Iowa, Illinois on Sunday. That will be an 11 a.m. central time tip off with the Aligni coming to town. huge matchup, huge opportunity. Iowa in the top 25, Illinois there as well.

Two teams, not only that, you get this thing on Big Fox. I mean, you talk about the lead-in that this is going to be leading into the NFL playoffs. It'll be on Fox a little bit later in the day in the wild card round as you get the 49ers and the Eagles with the 30-30 tip-off at Iowa, Illinois will start off the day on Fox and their local programming, just how big that's going to be and certainly going to be some eyeballs there for that one. But before that, I was got to get the win against Minnesota. This is Minnesota team that is starting to play a little bit better. Year number one of Nico Medved, who I know a lot of people probably remember for his days

when he was at Drake for a season before departing and going out to Colorado State. He's done a nice job. Still, this Minnesota team, you go back, they had an overtime win against Doug Gottlieb and UW Green Bay, who's not good. They struggled against Chicago State. We saw the Chicago State team. Now, they won four in a row, and they've won five out of six, including wins against Northwestern on the road this weekend. And also back in the beginning of December, they got a win at home against Indiana.

And that Indiana win shows us, obviously, the power of the home court advantage in conference play. A couple of guys that could knock down shots. Still, Medved's team, they're going to play slow. It's going to be built, much like Iowa. It's probably going to be a grinded out first one to. 65 maybe wins this type of game. So Iowa in the game, Ken Pomeroy has them favored by six. This, when you look at the road games, this is one you definitely need to put in the

win column. If you're talking about finishing the top third, and I think that is now a realistic goal for Iowa basketball. Finishing the top six of this 18 team league, that is absolutely a realistic goal for this team. I think there can be even more than that, but let's just start right there. Starts with the road victory, getting it. done against Minnesota. That's coming up on Tuesday for the Hawks.

Over on women's basketball, week in front. It starts tonight at 7.30 as they go to Chicago, Evanston, and take on Northwestern. Northwestern started off the year 6 and 0. Had a win against DePaul, pretty good women's program. And since then, they've lost eight in a row. It's a road game, but don't screw around. Go in there, dominate, get the victory. that iwas got a pretty big layoff is they don't play again until sunday themselves that'll be a

four o'clock out the road at indiana and this is another game indiana obviously over the last half decade how good their women's program has been we've seen a lot of epic matchups with iwin indiana obviously one jumps to mind the kately clark buzzer beater for the big ten championship this is not the same indiana team still tough still going to be a team that's going to be able to score on you, but a winnable road game here. Iowa could go 4-0 this week. We're going to be having a different conversation about Hawkeye Hoob certainly next week. But the biggest thing throughout the course of this week in the next two weeks will be the transfer portal. We will have you covered here on Lockdown Hawkeyes with the names, with the visits, what's happening. We got

the latest for you. We'll bring in some of our experts. We'll be talking with Tom Kekert from Hawkeye Report. David Eichold from Hawkeye Insider. We'll get their perspective. Two guys heavily involved in the recruiting game and get you breaking down everything that is happening in the transfer portal. If you're watching this work right now on YouTube, make sure you hit subscribe. That lets you know exactly when we are live with you, when we are going, and when you got a new episode each and every day here on the lockdown network. If you're on the podcast side, hit subscribe as well. Also, five-star reviews over there really help us get in front of more Hawkeye fans. And don't forget, yes, we also got you covered each and every day with our everydayer club.

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We'll recap what we see with Iowa Northwestern on the women's side and the latest on the football transfer portal. Thanks for being with us. We'll talk to you then until that. Go Hawks.