See you in San Diego! The Iowa Hawkeyes will reportedly face the Oklahoma Sooners in the inaugural Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego per Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today.
Rothstein reports that there is no timetable for an official announcement, but sources indicate that the event will be held during Thanksgiving weekend. The other two teams set to take part in the event are the USC Trojans and the Seton Hall Pirates.
The Sooners finished just 15-17 (5-13 Big 12) last season. OU head coach Porter Moser enters his third season at the helm and is looking to direct the program back into the NCAA Tournament for the first time under his watch and for the first time since 2021.
Oklahoma will be looking for sophomore guards Milos Uzan and Otega Oweh to take leaps forward. Plus, OU brought in transfer additions Jalon Moore from Georgia Tech, Le’Tre Darthard from Utah Valley, Rivaldo Soares of Oregon, John Hugley of Pitt and Javian McCollum from Siena to pair with freshman arrivals Kaden Cooper and Jacolb Cole.
On the other end of the equation, USC is one of the teams nationally generating buzz this offseason. Like Iowa, the Trojans took part in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
Their 22-11 (14-6 Pac-12) campaign came to a close with a first-round loss versus Michigan State in last year’s tournament. USC returns its leading scorer in guard Boogie Ellis who averaged 17.1 points per game last season. Guard Kobe Johnson and forward Joshua Morgan are both back after registering 9.2 and 7.0 points per game last season.
Plus, USC brings in a highly-touted signing class that features five-star point guard Isaiah Collier, shooting guard Bronny James, center Arrinten Page, and power forward Brandon Gardner. The Trojans also added Washington State transfer DJ Rodman.
Seton Hall finished last season 17-16 (10-10 Big East). The Pirates bring back their leading scorer from last year in guard Al-Amir Dawes and their third-leading scorer in guard Kadary Richmond.
Meanwhile, the Hawkeyes are looking to build upon a fourth straight NCAA Tournament berth. Iowa turns to Tony Perkins, Payton Sandfort and Patrick McCaffery as its experienced nucleus.
Perkins averaged 12.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game last season. Meanwhile, Sandfort chipped in with 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and a 34.3% 3-point shooting clip. McCaffery was also on the cusp of double-figure scoring, averaging 9.8 points per contest last season.
The Hawkeyes added transfer Even Brauns from Belmont and the Missouri Valley Conference’s leading scorer in Ben Krikke. That transfer duo joins a pair of players that Iowa hopes will continue to ascend in guards Josh Dix and Dasonte Bowen.
The rest of the Hawkeyes’ rotation will likely be made up of freshmen Brock Harding, Ladji Dembele, Pryce Sandfort and Owen Freeman.
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