The Iowa Hawkeye men open the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago Wednesday morning against the winner of today’s late afternoon game between Maryland and Oregon. The ninth seeded Hawkeyes are coming off heartbreaking losses last week to third ranked Michigan and 11th ranked Nebraska.

That’s Iowa coach Ben McCollum who says maximum effort gave the Hawkeyes a chance in those games and that’s what it will take no matter who they play.

The Hawkeyes will play the eight seed Ohio State Thursday morning if they win but McCollum says they will worry about the Buckeyes if they get there.

The Hawkeyes are 20-11 entering the postseason and are a strong candidate for an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament.

The Hawkeyes split two regular season games against Maryland. They beat Oregon 84-66 in Eugene back on February first but since that game the Ducks have regained the services of injured seven foot center Nate Bittle. He averages nearly 17 points per game.