IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — No one was less surprised that Tyler Cook decided to come back to Iowa than coach Fran McCaffery. The biggest question now for the Hawkeyes is whether Cook’s return will be enough to get them back on track after a disappointing season.

Cook, who will be a junior next season, announced on Wednesday that he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft. Though it seemed like at times that Cook’s days in Iowa City might be numbered — and he acknowledged Thursday that he was unsure about his future until Wednesday morning — McCaffery said that the process went almost exactly as he envisioned it.

Cook, who averaged team highs with 15.3 points and 6.8 rebounds a game in 2017-18, wasn’t expected to be selected. “It was time for him to explore his options, and that’s exactly what he did … and I’m sort of baffled by everybody’s surprise. I mean, the kid wants to play in the NBA. I want him to play in the NBA. I want to be part of him reaching his dream,” McCaffery said. “If the indications were that he was going to be a first-round pick, he’d be gone. … I think everybody overanalyzed what happened. He did exactly what he said he was going to do.”

Cook and fellow junior-to-be Isaiah Moss both went through the NBA draft evaluation process before deciding to re-commit to the Hawkeyes. That left Iowa in the position of bringing nearly every key contributor back in 2018-19. That could be either a good or a bad thing for a team that lost 19 games and was just 4-14 in the Big Ten.

The Iowa defense was, at times, perhaps as bad as any Power Five team in America. Iowa allowed nearly 80 points a game and let opponents shoot 46.2 percent from the floor. Both McCaffery and Cook said Thursday that Iowa’s defense will have to improve if the team wants to escape the league basement. The Hawkeyes should have the depth to make that happen, as they return all five starters from a year ago.

We need to “make sure everyone is locked in and ready to go,” Cook said. As for Cook’s future, McCaffery said that NBA scouts want to see Cook improve as much next season as he did between his freshman and sophomore seasons, when his points, rebounds and assists all went up. They also want him to improve defensively to the point where Cook would be able to guard all five positions.

If Cook can become a better defender next season, it should help the Hawkeyes make the necessary strides on that end of the floor — and solidify Cook’s status as the leader Iowa has been looking for. “He wants to lead this team. That’s what I love about this guy. He has to be the guy that leads in the locker room and on the court. I encourage him to be that guy,” McCaffery said.

AMES, Iowa – The 2018 Iowa State football season is right around the corner and the ISU Athletics Department has confirmed television and kickoff times for the first three games of the season.

Iowa State will open the 2018 season under the lights, playing host to South Dakota State on Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. Cyclones.tv will carry the game.

The annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game vs. Iowa in Iowa City on Sept. 8 will be a 4 p.m. kickoff on Fox.

The Iowa State-Oklahoma matchup in Jack Trice Stadium on Sept. 15 will kick at 11 a.m. The game will be carried on one of the ESPN family of networks channels (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU).

Iowa State returns 16 players from last year’s 8-5 Liberty Bowl champion team, including 10 players who earned preseason All-Big 12 honors from Athlon Sports.

Over 50,000 fans have attended a game in Jack Trice Stadium a school-record 45-straight games.

2018 Iowa State Schedule
Sept. 1                  SOUTH DAKOTA STATE (Cyclones.tv) – 7 p.m.
Sept. 8                  %at Iowa (Fox)  – 4 p.m.
Sept. 15                *OKLAHOMA (ABC/ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU) – 11 a.m.
Sept. 22                AKRON – TBA
Sept. 29                *at TCU – TBA
Oct. 6                    *at Oklahoma State – TBA
Oct. 13                  *WEST VIRGINIA – TBA
Oct. 27                  *TEXAS TECH (Homecoming) – TBA
Nov. 3                   *at Kansas – TBA
Nov. 10                 *BAYLOR – TBA
Nov. 17                 *at Texas – TBA
Nov. 24                 *KANSAS STATE – TBA
*Big 12 Conference game
%Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series
Times are CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa – – Afternoon start times for the opening three University of Iowa football games were announced Thursday by the Big Ten Conference and BTN, ESPN, and FOX television networks. Start times for seven Iowa contests were announced, including five of seven home games.

Iowa opens the season Sept. 1, with a 2:30 p.m. (CT) contest against Northern Illinois on BTN. The Hawkeyes host instate rival Iowa State in the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series game Sept. 8, starting at 4 p.m. (CT) on FOX.  The Hawkeyes host Northern Iowa the following weekend at 6:30 p.m. (CT) on BTN.  Iowa and Northern Iowa have never met in a night game.

Following consecutive road games in October, Iowa returns to Kinnick Stadium for Homecoming against Maryland (Oct. 20), with that game starting at 11 a.m. (CT).  The network designation has not been announced.  Iowa’s annual Black Fridaycontest against Nebraska (Nov. 23) will air on FOX at 11 a.m. (CT). The Hy-Vee Heroes Game will once again serve as Iowa’s Senior Day.

The Hawkeyes will be the Homecoming opponent at Minnesota (Oct. 6) and at Indiana (Oct. 13).  The annual meeting for Floyd of Rosedale will be played at either 3:30 or 4 p.m. (CT) on a yet to be determined network.  Iowa’s game in Bloomington has a noon (ET) kickoff and will air on ABC/ESPN/ESPN2.

Kickoff times for the remainder of the season, beginning with the Big Ten opener against Wisconsin, will be announced no later than 12 days prior to the game, per the media rights agreements between the Big Ten Conference and its television partners.

Questions concerning the purchase of 2018 football tickets, including general public, UI faculty/staff and UI student seasons tickets by current UI students, should be directed to the UI Athletics Ticket Office.  The office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.  The office telephone number is 1-800-IA-HAWKS.  Information is also available at hawkeyesports.com/ fightforiowa.

Iowa’s 2018 football schedule (all listed times are CT):

Sept. 1        Northern Illinois, 2:30 p.m., BTN
Sept. 8        Iowa State, 4 p.m., FOX
Sept. 15      Northern Iowa, 6:30 p.m., BTN
Sept. 22      Wisconsin, TBA
Oct. 6          at Minnesota, 3:30 or 4 p.m., TBA
Oct. 13        at Indiana, Noon, ABC/ESPN/ESPN2
Oct. 20        Maryland, 11 a.m., TBA
Oct. 27        at Penn State, TBA
Nov. 3        at Purdue, TBA
Nov. 10      Northwestern, TBA
Nov. 17      at Illinois, TBA
Nov. 23      Nebraska, 11 a.m., FOX