Iowa men’s basketball to face Virginia Tech in Sioux City debut
Iowa’s first men’s basketball game in Sioux City will bring Ben McCollum and Storm Lake’s Jaidyn Coon back home when the Hawkeyes face Virginia Tech on Nov. 10.
Storm Lake’s basketball ties will be front and center when Iowa meets Virginia Tech at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City on Nov. 10, a neutral-site nonconference game that puts Ben McCollum and Jaidyn Coon back within reach of western Iowa fans. Iowa said tickets are set to go on sale Friday, while the tipoff time has not yet been announced.
The matchup gives Iowa its first-ever men’s basketball game in Sioux City. It is also the fifth all-time meeting between Iowa and Virginia Tech and the first since Nov. 28, 2017, when the Hokies beat the Hawkeyes 79-55 in Blacksburg, Virginia.
The Sioux City date is part of a broader 2026-27 schedule that includes other neutral-site games in Iowa against Creighton on Nov. 15 and Alabama on Dec. 21. For Buena Vista County readers, the Sioux City stop stands out because it carries a clear home-region link through both the head coach and one of the players on the roster.
McCollum, an Iowa native, is entering his second season as Iowa’s head men’s basketball coach and is signed through the 2032 season. His return to the state’s western edge comes with Coon, the Storm Lake High School product who signed with Iowa in April 2026 after being named Iowa Mr. Basketball. Coon also capped his prep career as Storm Lake’s all-time leading scorer with 1,692 points.
Coon’s senior season gave Storm Lake one of its best recent runs. He averaged 22 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals, helped the Tornadoes go 24-3, and led them to a Class 3A state tournament semifinal. Storm Lake also won its first state tournament game since 1980 with Coon on the roster, a milestone that still resonates around town.
That makes the Sioux City game more than another early-season nonconference date for Iowa. It puts a Storm Lake high school standout and an Iowa-born head coach on a stage close enough for local families, former teammates and western Iowa basketball followers to make the trip, with the Hawkeyes’ first stop in Sioux City carrying a distinctly local pulse.
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