DES MOINES, Iowa – Matchups and tipoff times for the 2013 Hy-Vee Big Four Classic have been determined as the state of Iowa’s four NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams prepare to take center stage at Wells Fargo Arena on Dec. 7. Northern Iowa and Iowa State will open the doubleheader event with a 5 p.m. tipoff followed by Drake and Iowa renewing their series at 7:30 p.m.

One of the marquee basketball events in the Midwest, the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic is in its second season after a successful debut in 2012 that saw 13,180 fans stream through the Wells Fargo Arena turnstiles. The 2014 edition promises to be just as attractive to basketball fans in Iowa as three of the Big Four teams appeared in the postseason in 2012-13.

Tickets for Hy-Vee Big Four Classic range in price from $25-70. Each institution will have an equal number of game tickets to distribute. Tickets will be good for admission to both games of the doubleheader and will be made available first to each institution’s basketball season ticket holders. Tickets not sold by the institutions will be placed on sale for the general public through the Wells Fargo Arena box office at a date to be announced.

The Hy-Vee Big Four Classic opener between Iowa State and UNI features two teams that went a combined 44-27 last season with Iowa State advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament and UNI winning three postseason games to advance to the semifinals of the Collegeinsider.com Tournament.

The nightcap includes an Iowa team that went 25-13 in 2012-13 to earn a berth in the National Invitational Tournament and streak through the field to earn runner-up honors after falling to Baylor in the title game at Madison Square Garden. Drake, which went 15-17 a season ago, will feature a re-tooled roster under first-year head coach Ray Giacoletti, who previously served as an assistant at Gonzaga for the past six seasons.

Potential television broadcasts of the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic will be announced at a later date.

The event’s sponsor, Hy-Vee, Inc., is an employee-owned corporation operating 234 retail supermarkets and drug stores in eight Midwestern states. With sales of more than $7.7 billion, Hy-Vee ranks among the top 20 supermarket chains and the top 50 private companies in the United States. As representatives of the famous “helpful smile in every aisle” brand, Hy-Vee’s 66,000 employee-owners take pride in meeting customers’ desire for quality products, outstanding values and superior customer service. Additional information about Hy-Vee is available at hy-vee.com.