5 Things Iowa Fans Need to Know About Fairleigh Dickinson

The Iowa Hawkeyes knew they were among the Top 16 teams, but they later learned they were going to be the No. 2 seed in Region 4 - Sacramento.

The No. 1 seed in their region is South Carolina which just so happens to be one of the two No. 1 seeds the Hawkeyes aren't afraid of facing.

That said, they need to take things one step at a time. Hawkeyes fans have the chance to park Carver for two final times this year as No. 15 Fairleigh Dickinson comes to town for their first round matchup.

The Knights sit at 30-4 overall and were a perfect 18-0 in the NEC. Iowa's 26-6 record looks like nothing compared to that, though it's important to remember three of those six losses were to UConn and UCLA.

1. FDU Hasn't Lost Since December 29

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— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 16, 2026

Fairleigh Dickinson started the year 0-2 and later improved to 2-3. They turned that into an 8-4 record and never looked back. Heading into the tournament they've won 22 straight games with their last loss beign to Binghamton, 62-51, back on December 29, 2025.

2. Four of Last Five Wins Came Against Same Two Teams

The Northeast Conference is far from the most stacked in the world and that was proven as FDU has beaten Long Island University and Saint Francis twice in their last five games.

FDU handled Saint Francis on both March 5 and 9 and beat Long Island on February 28 and March 15. The only other team they played was Le Monye on March 12 in the NEC Semi-Finals.

3. Three Guards Average Double-Digits

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— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 16, 2026

Sophomore guard Ava Renninger is the team's leading scorer with her 12.7 points per game. Fellow sophomore Kailee McDonald isn't too far behind at 12.1 ppg while senior Madlena Gerke averages 11.1.

For what it's worth, Gerke is an Evansville transfer while both Renninger and McDonald have been on this team for each of their first two years.

4. Ava Renninger is the Complete Package

Not only does the 5'6'' guard lead the team in scoring, but she's also third with 5.8 rebounds per game and is the clear assist leader with 5.2.

The leading rebounder is forward Rebecca Osei-Owusu, a 5'11'' junior who averages 6.5 boards per game. The next closest player when it comes to assists is Gerke who averages just 1.9.

5. Knights Have Lost to Two B1G Teams

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— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 16, 2026

FDU dropped their season opener at Purdue, 67-48. They followed it up by being crushed at No. 15 Notre Dame, 98-52.

A few games later the Knights played at Rutgers, a team that struggled to do anything of note in the B1G this season. While FDU's overall record is impressive, losing 59-49 to the Scarlet Knights leaves a lot to be desired.

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