IOWA CITY, Iowa – Sophomore forward Owen Freeman remembers exactly where he was when he learned that the Iowa men’s basketball team had scheduled a game in his adoptive hometown of Moline, Illinois.

“I didn’t know it was a possibility, I just heard that we were playing,” said Freeman, who moved to Moline for his senior of high school. “I was on a little fishing trip, so when it happened, I was really excited.

“I didn’t know anything about it. So, for it to just come out and be public, I was through the moon,”

The 3-0 Hawkeyes will face 3-0 Washington State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Vibrant Arena at the Mark.

The game will also fall on Freeman’s 20th birthday, so last season’s Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year has plenty of reasons to be motivated.

“There’s people coming out of the woodwork saying they’re going to be there,” Freeman said. “I’m going to see some people that I haven’t seen in a while.

“So, I’m excited. It’s going to be fun.”

Freeman and Iowa teammate Brock Harding, a sophomore point guard, were teammates on Moline High School’s 2023 state champion team.

Their connection to Moline is one of the reasons Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery agreed to play a game in Moline.

“We as you know no longer play the ACC Challenge, nor do we play the Big East Challenge,” Fran McCaffery said Thursday. “So, we wanted to challenge our team with really good opponents and we wanted to be able to play in different locations for our fan base. So, there’s more and more opportunities to play these sort of neutral site games.

“This is the perfect opportunity with how the schedule works now. And of course, with Brock and Owen being here, that made even more sense.

Freeman missed this past Tuesday’s 96-77 victory over South Dakota due to an illness.

But he has since made a full recovery and is ready to go.

“I’ll be good for sure,” Freeman said. “I just needed a couple days for some rest.”

Freeman said it was weird watching Iowa play a game from home.

“Just because you know everything that kind of goes into game day and you kind of get to see all that on TV,” Freeman said. “It was a different experience for sure.”

Harding, meanwhile, grew up in Moline and he expects to have numerous family and friends in the stands on Friday.

“A lot of people are excited for the game,” Harding said. “It’s cool to get to go back home to play in front of all the hometown people.”

As for Washington State, its brings a 3-0 record into the Quad Cities with home wins over Portland State, Bradley and Idaho.

The Cougars are playing as an affiliate member of the West Coast Conference in the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

Washington State has seven players averaging in double figures this season with Nate Calmese leading the way at 17.7 points per game. The Cougars are shooting 49.5 percent from the floor and average 11 3-poiners per game.

The Cougars are plus 11.7 on the glass with three players averaging 7-plus rebounds per game. LeJuan Watts averages 13 points and 9.7 rebounds.

“I’ve been really impressed with them” Fran McCaffery said. “They’ve got a lot of guys that are producing. They move and share the ball. They’re big. They’ve got really good guard play. It’s veteran group.

Washington State (3-0) vs. Iowa (3-0)

When: Friday. 7:30 p.m.

Where: Moline, Illinois, Vibrant Arena at the Mark (9,200)

TV: BTN

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

All-time series: Friday’s game is the second all-time between Iowa and Washington State. The Hawkeyes lead 1-0 courtesy of a 74-66 victory in Pullman, Washington.