The ISU men’s basketball team officially announced its non-conference schedule for the 2015-16 season on Tuesday. 

Iowa State will play in-state rivals Iowa and Northern Iowa in an eight-day, three-game span in December.

Iowa State will first play against Iowa at Hilton Coliseum on Dec. 11. The Cyclones have a chance to knock off the Hawkeyes for the fifth time in six years and assist in bringing the CyHawk trophy back to Ames for a third straight year. 

Following a Dec. 13 game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Ames, Iowa State will travel to Des Moines for the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic featuring the four Division I schools in Iowa. Iowa State will open against Northern Iowa on Dec. 19. 

The Panthers had one of their best seasons in the history of the program with a 31-4 record and an appearance in the Sweet 16. 

New ISU head coach Steve Prohm will face off against a pair of alumni in December and January after leaving his former head coaching job at Murray State.

Iowa State will travel to Cincinnati to face-off against former Murray State coach Mark Cronin on Dec. 22.

But the focus may not be all on the connection. 

It won’t be an easy game for Iowa State, with Cincinnati fresh off a season where it advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament after going 23-11 and beating Purdue in the second round.

The second game of Murray State alumni will be the big one in the non-conference schedule, with Iowa State matching up against Texas A&M on Jan. 30. 

Prohm will try to knock off his old mentor Billy Kennedy in College Station, Texas, for the Big 12/ACC Challenge. Prohm was under the tutelage of Kennedy for most of his career and took over Murray State after Kennedy exited.

The Cyclones begin their season with an exhibition game on Nov. 6. The opponent has not been announced.