Breaking down Iowa's B1G single-plays

The Big Ten really didn't do the Iowa men's basketball team any favors when it came to single-play match-ups next year.

Last year there were four Big Ten teams with losing records, and Iowa plays three of them only once next year. Iowa's only single-play against a team with a winning record was league champion Indiana, and that game will be played in Bloomington.

The single-play games against Indiana and Purdue make sense. The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers have played twice annually for the last eight years. Iowa and Purdue (home) have played twice each year for six seasons. Both series were due for single-play status.

The strange single-play assignments for Iowa were Penn State (away) and Nebraska (home). In three of the last five years Iowa and Penn State have played just once. Before last season's last-second win at State College, Iowa had lost five straight at Bryce Jordan Center. The Nittany Lions were 2-16 in Big Ten play but boasts the league's top returning scorer in D.J. Newbill. Guard Tim Frazier, a first-team all-Big Ten selection in 2011-12, also returns for a fifth year after a season-ending injury last year.

I'm really not sure why Iowa won't play Nebraska twice next year. So far the teams' four meetings have been compelling. It's the Cornhuskers' only game against a border foe and that series needs to have some oomph. It would have made a better single-play in Lincoln, Neb. to allow western Iowa fans to see a game. In fact, Nebraska's three closest Big Ten opponents -- Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota -- are single-plays.

Other single-game quirks: Purdue and Indiana plays just once, at West Lafayette. It's possible the teams could line up another non-conference game. Michigan and Ohio State won't play twice and Ohio State Athletics Director Gene Smith said he has no interest in scheduling a non-conference game.

"We're not chicken," Smith said with a laugh.

Here are the schools' single-play games for next season (courtesy of BTN):

Illinois: Michigan, Purdue, at Northwestern, at Minnesota

Indiana: Ohio State, Iowa, at Purdue, at Minnesota

Iowa: Purdue, Nebraska, at Penn State, at Indiana

Michigan: Northwestern, Penn State, at Ohio State, at Illinois

Michigan State: Nebraska, Minnesota, at Purdue, at Wisconsin

Minnesota: Indiana, Illinois, at Michigan State, at Nebraska

Nebraska: Wisconsin, Minnesota, at Iowa, at Michigan State

Northwestern: Illinois, Penn State, at Ohio State, at Michigan

Ohio State: Michigan, Northwestern, at Wisconsin, at Indiana

Penn State: Iowa, Wisconsin, at Michigan, at Northwestern

Purdue: Indiana, Michigan State, at Illinois, at Iowa

Wisconsin: Ohio State, Michigan State, at Penn State, at Nebraska