We are only a few weeks into the college basketball season, and it has been insane. I am truly surprised the NCAA hasn’t coined a term to describe this “madness”. Of all the major upsets that have already happened this year, possibly the biggest upset of the year was when our Panthers upset the No. 1 team in the country.

Granted, North Carolina was missing their best player, but one guy doesn’t make the whole team. . . right? Anyway, the tournament that decides in-state bragging rights for college basketball, the Big Four Classic, is on Dec. 19 and we couldn’t be more excited for it.

Let’s do a short recap of last year’s classic. First off, we had the Cyclones facing off against Drake. In a game, if you could call it that, we saw a Cyclone team that shot 54 percent from the field versus a young Drake Bulldogs team that shot just 38 percent. The 13th ranked Cyclones won a close one, 83-54.

UNI played Iowa in a low-scoring game, to say the least. When looking back at this game, the term “boring” comes to mind, but nonetheless, the Panthers won, 56-44.

UNI boasted one of the best defenses in the nation last year, which held true against the Hawkeyes, holding them to just 27 percent from the field. The Panthers, on the other hand, shot a solid 45 percent with Paul Jesperson leading the way with 10 points.

With UNI and Iowa State being the two winners, we can’t say for sure who had bragging rights last year; both had phenomenal seasons. I think it would be wise to have had the two winners faceoff in a championship round to have a true winner. But the Hawkeyes lost to Iowa State and UNI last year, and, because of that, we are all winners.

This year, we get the matchup everyone cares about: Iowa State versus UNI. Now, I need to be real with you guys for a moment. Like I have mentioned before, I am an Iowa State fan. But I absolutely love both teams. Therefore, I will be as impartial as possible.

Let’s start with Iowa State. They are off to a great start, 7-0, beating their opponents by an average of 20 points, and they are ranked the fourth best team in the nation. UNI, on the other hand, owns a 6-2 and defeated their opponents by an average of 11 points.

When you look at this Iowa State team with their lethal offensive attack, UNI looks outmatched. But the Panthers have one thing ISU doesn’t, which is a win over a top-five team. The Cyclones do have some solid wins this year, but they haven’t had to face anyone particularly strong so far.

I think it would be easy for anyone other than us Panther fans to say that the Cyclones will do what they do and beat UNI with relative ease. But watching this team take down North Carolina, I truly think the sky’s the limit for the Panthers. This is the one non-conference game for the Cyclones that, as a fan, I am worried about.

For Iowa State, they have got to come out and play efficient offense. I think the key for UNI is to stop Georges Niang. If he’s got a bad night, the whole offense will too. But if the Panthers allow him to get going early, they could be in for a long night. Either way it will be a fantastic game to watch.

Along with the ISU/UNI game, the Hawkeyes will faceoff against the Bulldogs in what will probably be a blowout. In what was an embarrassing exhibition loss to an Augustana team that is ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II basketball, the Hawkeye faithful were worried. But Iowa was able to recover and is off to a solid start owning a 7-2 record.

Drake, on the other hand, has a 4-4 record. Aruguably their most notable win was probably against Simpson College, beating them 97-52. Drake is beating their opponents by an average of three points, versus Iowa, who is beating their opponents by an average of 16 points. Need I say more? The Hawkeyes will win this game easily, though it would be really fun to see them lose.

Another year and another season of three awesome basketball programs in the state of Iowa. We Iowans have a lot going for us these days, not just for basketball but for football as well. Once again, the Panthers are currently deep in the playoff race in football.

The Hawkeyes went 12-1 this year and are playing in the Rose Bowl for the first time in 25 years. Another year has gone by, and yet again, I will say I am proud to be an Iowan.