The 59th annual Ken Kraft Midlands Championships and the second annual Soldier Salute live stream exclusively on B1G+, Dec. 29-30.

As wrestling season ramps up, a season-long wrestling pass is available for $69.99 on B1G+, the Big Ten Network’s home for non-televised events and on-demand archives. The subscription includes access to both the Midlands Championships and Soldier Salute, as well as more than 80 additional non-televised Big Ten wrestling events, 2024 Big Ten Wrestling Championships coverage and on-demand replays of televised duals. Additionally, you can watch up to four live streams/mats simultaneously on one screen at bigtenplus.com or with Apple TV.

Big Ten Network veteran wrestling broadcasters Shane Sparks and Jim Gibbons will anchor the Midlands Championships coverage on B1G+. For the first two sessions on Dec. 29, B1G+ will feature 10 individual mat cameras along with whip-around coverage focused on the best action at a given moment. On Dec. 30, B1G+ will once again be home to individual mat cameras for both the men’s and women’s divisions in sessions three and four, along with the whip-around feed.

Individual mat cameras will be available for all four sessions of the Soldier Salute. The tournament is hosted by the Iowa City Area Sports Commission and 100% of the annual tournament proceeds will be split between the United Service Organizations (USO) and a development fund targeted towards the continued growth of high school girls wrestling. As part of its coverage commitment, the Big Ten Network will also make a contribution benefitting both organizations.

Competitors from 10 Big Ten men’s programs are expected to compete across both tournaments, including several ranked in Intermat’s top 30. The list includes No. 2 Iowa, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 10 Michigan, No. 12 Minnesota, No. 14 Rutgers, No. 23 Illinois, No. 30 Wisconsin, Michigan State, Northwestern and Purdue. The Iowa women’s program will also compete at the Solider Salute.

Additional Big Ten wrestling coverage can be found on the B1G Wrestling Instagram page and the Big Ten Network YouTube wrestling page.

Former Iowa star T.J. Hockenson will go up against his former team on Sunday when the Minnesota Vikings host the Detroit Lions. The tight end spent his first three and a half years in the NFL with the Lions before being traded to Minnesota. He knows Detroit offensive coordinator Ben Johnson well.

At 7-7 the Vikings are in the thick of the NFC playoff race.

Hockenson says the Vikings need a strong finish.

Because of a season ending injury to Kirk Cousins the Vikings have used four different starting quarterbacks this season.

Games at the 12 Courts of Christmas in the Hy Vee Arena

Boy’s Basketball Scores:
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 86 Bishop Miege, 64
Kearney 64 Ballard, 55
Platte County 57 Creston, 56

Girls:
Creston 43 Hogan Prep, 27

Iowa closed the opening half on a 25-7 run and cruised to a 103-81 win over Maryland-Baltimore County. Tony Perkins led the way with 23 points while freshman guard Brock Harding had 10 points and added 12 assists.

The Hawkeyes had 33 assists and just four turnovers, but coach Fran McCaffery was frustrated by the lack of defense.

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State (7-4, 0-0 Big 12) took the win over in-state foe UNI (1-8, 0-0 MVC) by a final of 87-70. ISU had six in double figures for the second time this season, also bringing in the second-straight game with at least five totaling 10-plus.

UNI held the lead until Iowa State came back to tie it in the final moments of the first quarter, while ISU followed to take the lead in the second and build on it. ISU had the second-straight game making at least 10 3-pointers and fourth of the season.

Kelsey Joens and Audi Crooks each led with 16 points while Addy Brown (11), Isnelle Natabou (11), Emily Ryan (11) and Hannah Belanger (10) totaled the six double-figure scorers. Crooks put up her 10th-straight 10-plus point game, totaling her 16 on 6-of-8 shooting.

Brown had her fifth-straight double-double and sixth of the season with 12 rebounds and 11 points to go along with seven assists. Natabou had her first double-double at Iowa State, turning in 11 points at 80 percent shooting and 10 rebounds. Natabou recorded her 700th career rebound, while bringing her career point total to 1,036 and rebound total to 703. Natabou became the 49th active NCAA D1 player with 1,000 career points and 700 rebounds.

Up Next

Iowa State will return to action Saturday, Dec. 30 to open conference at Oklahoma State. The game begins at 2 p.m. and will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

(hawkeyesports.com) IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated UMBC, 103-81, on Wednesday night on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes move to 7-5 on the season.

A 12-2 run late in the first half allowed the Hawkeyes to gain a 10-point advantage, knocking down 9-of-10 field goals. Iowa finished the half shooting 20-of-42 from the field with 15 assists and just one turnover. Iowa built an advantage on the glass early, grabbing 27 rebounds in the first half compared to UMBC’s 12.  At the end of the first half, Iowa led 50-36.

The Hawkeyes were able to pull away in the second half behind a balanced scoring attack. 10 different Hawkeyes scored points in the second half while they shot 22-of-42 from the field and knocked down four threes. Iowa finished the game with just four turnovers.

Senior Tony Perkins stuffed the stat sheet. In the first 20-minutes of action the Indianapolis, Indiana, native poured in 12 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out four assists. Perkins went on to finish the game as the leading scorer, finishing with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists. Junior Payton Sandfort nearly had a double-double in the first half, finishing with eight points and eight rebounds. Sandfort finished the game scoring 18 points and pulling in 10 rebounds. It is Sandfort’s second double-double of the year.

Up Next
The Hawkeyes host their final nonconference game of the season Dec. 29, hosting Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  The game will be streamed live on B1G+.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa senior linebacker Jay Higgins was announced as the unanimous winner of the 2023 Duke Slater Golden Gavel Award, which was voted upon by a group of Iowa media members who cover the program on a regular basis.

Higgins, an Indianapolis native, is the third winner of the annual award. He joins inaugural winner Kaevon Merriweather (2021) and Spencer Petras (2022) as Golden Gavel recipients.

By description, “The Golden Gavel will go to the Iowa football player, who not only is most cooperative with local media, but exhibits themself with professional integrity in all interactions.”

“Every reporter, from print to television, who covers Iowa mentioned Jay Higgins first when it came to this award,” said Scott Dochterman, a sportswriter with The Athletic who presented Higgins with the Golden Gavel. “The class and professionalism with which Jay displayed in all situations, not only was impressive, it was truly remarkable.”

The award is named after Duke Slater, who was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame and a 2021 inductee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Slater earned his law degree from the University of Iowa while playing in the NFL, and he became the first African-American elected to the Cook County Superior Court. The playing surface at Kinnick Stadium was renamed Duke Slater Field in summer 2021.

The Iowa State men play their final game before the Christmas break on Thursday night when they host Eastern Illinois. The Cyclones are 9-2 while Eastern enters with a record of 6-6.

That’s Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger who says Eastern Illinois does a good job of limiting easy baskets.