Ticket Demand for Michigan at Iowa NCAA Basketball Game

The Iowa Hawkeyes have had a resurgence this season, climbing into the top 25 of the NCAA rankings and remaining competitive in the Big Ten title race. Although they’ve lost three of their last five, they’ll have a chance to turn around things before the homestretch of the season and avenge one of those recent losses this weekend against the No. 10 Michigan Wolverines.

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The home game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena is one of two upcoming Big Ten matchups which rank as the two most demanded Iowa home games this season. After this weekend’s game against Michigan, Iowa will host the Wisconsin Badgers on February 22, a game that will bring one of the perennial conference contenders and a team once ranked in the top three this season in front of an Iowa crowd reinvigorated by their team’s success. Before the Badgers come to town, though, the Hawkeyes need to focus on turning the tables on Michigan after losing to them back on January 22. The Wolverines have overcome their non-conference struggles to streak to the front of the Big Ten pack, and if Iowa has any hopes of a regular season title, they’ll need to take a big step in putting a loss on Michigan’s record.

The anticipation for these two home games and hope for a Big Ten title has pushed Iowa basketball ticket prices to their peak for the season. Both games are sold out, with tickets for each averaging of $95 on the secondary market, making them the most expensive Iowa home games since the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers visited Carver-Hawkeye Arena on New Year’s Eve 2012 ($100 average ticket price). The average ticket price for this weekend’s game against Michigan is nearly double the $48/ticket it cost to see the Wolverines’ last visit to Iowa on January 14, 2012, and 73% higher than the Hawkeyes’ season average ticket price of $55. Compared to the Iowa-Michigan football game this past November ($85 average ticket price), tickets to the game on the hardwood this Saturday are 13% more expensive, quite an impressive feat given the heights the tradition of Big Ten pigskin has reached over the last few decades.

Iowa Hawkeyes Basketball Tickets

There about 300 tickets available on the secondary market for Saturday’s game, with the cheapest seats starting at $95 each, or more than three times face value ($30). That $95 will get you a seat in the upper rows behind the baseline, and it will cost more than $130 to sit in the upper rows along the sideline. In fact, we’ve seen some fans spend more than $300 per ticket to sit in the first 10 rows from center court. Combined with the Michigan State at Wisconsin game this Sunday, the Big Ten has stepped to the forefront of the NCAA basketball scene as the tournament field begins to come into focus. Teams like the Hawkeyes, Badgers, and Spartans have seen the Wolverines pass them on the way to the top of the conference standings, and it’ll be exciting to see how this weekend’s pair of grudge matches set the stage for the rest of the schedule.

Michigan vs. Iowa Basketball Rivalry

Date Winner Score City State Venue
2/8/2014 TBD TBD Iowa City IA Carver-Hawkeye Arena
1/22/2014 Michigan 75-67 Ann Arbor MI Crisler Center
1/6/2013 Michigan 95-67 Ann Arbor MI Crisler Center
1/14/2012 Iowa 75-59 Iowa City IA Carver-Hawkeye Arena
2/19/2011 Michigan 75-72 (OT) Iowa City IA Carver-Hawkeye Arena
1/30/2011 Michigan 87-73 Ann Arbor MI Crisler Center

Wolverines – Hawkeyes Big 10 Preview

No. 22 Michigan upset no. 10 Iowa on the Wolverines’ home court last month, and the Hawkeyes will be seeking revenge on their own floor this weekend.