This Friday the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) men’s basketball team will tip-off a Division I exhibition battle at the University of Iowa. It’s a long anticipated homecoming for Bulldogs’ head coach Justin Wieck.

“I’ve been trying for years honestly to get a game there, no matter where I’ve been coaching. That’s where I grew up, first of all. I’ve been going to games since I was two or three years old, and had season tickets growing up, and then had a chance to play there. I spent six years there as either a player or coach, and you’re in there every day, you’re in the trenches. It would be a lot of positive emotions. I loved my time there, I love being a Hawkeye. I still do,” Wieck said.

Wieck was a walk-on for the Hawkeyes in 2004, then helped them win the Big Ten championship in 2006. He’s also a native of North Liberty, Iowa.

UMD’s battle in Iowa City is set for Friday, October 25 at 7 p.m. at Carver Arena.

“I’m super geared up for the atmosphere. Obviously, it’s going to be a little bit different than here in Romano and other places we play, but just kind of getting the feel of how different it is to play in a huge atmosphere like that is going to be super exciting and interesting,” Mattie Thompson said, a UMD redshirt junior forward.

This will mark the Bulldogs’ fourth Division I matchup in seven years, having previously faced the Minnesota Gophers in 2018, the University of Nevada (2021), and Drake University (2022).