Basketball at Carver Hawkeye: Iowa Time Machine January 5, 1983

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 5, 1983, Iowa men’s basketball played the team’s first game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With 15,245 in attendance, a last-second shot that appeared to fall through the net was waved off by officials, and Iowa lost to Michigan State, 61-59, in the first basketball game ever played at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

For nearly six decades, Iowa basketball teams had played in the Iowa Field House, a facility dating to 1926 that featured steel balconies, poor acoustics, and view-obstructing columns throughout the building. Coach Lute Olson banged the drum in the late 1970s for a new arena to replace the antiquated Iowa Fieldhouse. The arena opened on January 5, 1983, replacing the Iowa Field House after being entirely funded by private contributions. The facility was named Carver-Hawkeye Arena to honor Roy J. Carver, a Muscatine industrialist who donated $2 million toward the $17 million project.

With Iowa trailing by 2 points in the final seconds, Greg Hansen took a pass from Steve Carfino and threw up what would have been a 3-pointer that beat the buzzer for a 1-point victory. The shot appeared to give Iowa a 60-59 win. Official Ed Hightower ruled that Carfino had stepped out of bounds before passing the ball, and Hansen's buzzer-beater was wiped out.

More than four decades later, Carver-Hawkeye Arena stands as the home of Hawkeye hoops. The men's basketball team has won approximately 76 percent of its games in the facility, while averaging nearly 12,000 in attendance over the facility's first four decades. #Iowa #History #Basketball #OTD #Hawkeyes