Before, schools in certain Iowa Conference sports had a 75% chance of qualifying for the end-of-the-season league tournament. Starting this fall, those chances go from a 6-in-8 opportunity to 6-in-9. Nebraska Wesleyan will be joining the Iowa Conference this autumn, which has changed how basketball is scheduled. With the now odd number of teams in the league and two more conference games that have to be played, IIAC games will be played as early as November in some cases. Central’s men’s basketball team is bringing all five of their starters back, plus most of their bench. Even with schools like Dubuque losing two-time league MVP Andre Norris, Coach Craig Douma says every team must be ready for a fight in every conference game, including his battle-tested Dutch. Douma adds he’s looking forward to seeing the guard play this winter, as several schools bring back talented guys at the 1 and 2 positions. Central tips off the ’16-’17 season on November 15 in Mount Pleasant versus Iowa Wesleyan.

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