Iowa vs. Fairleigh Dickinson Tactical Breakdown: 3 Ways Hawkeyes Can Beat Knights

The Iowa Hawkeyes secured the No. 2 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament which basically secured them another two home games.

Fairleigh Dickinson is 30-4 overall but three of their four losses have come on the road. Of all the team's they've played this year, a few of those road losses include games against B1G squad.

Second year head coach Jan Jensen's girls are coming off a brutal loss in the conference championship game, but going from playing UCLA to playing FDU will be a massive difference.

The Knights haven't lost since December 29 but that shouldn't phase Iowa. The Hawkeyes absolutely need to take a team on a 22-game winning streak seriously, but they still have three clear paths to victory.

1. Ava Heiden Masterclass

Another nod for Ava 🫡@ava_heiden x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/7JBkwbT8l4
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 18, 2026

Ava Heiden is going to be one of the best players the Knights have seen all year long. Back on November 5 they faced Notre Dame's Hannah Hidalgo, but other than that their opponents haven't had any major players that receive national attention.

Heiden is Iowa's leading scorer at 17.4 points per game. That already is a vast difference to the 12.7 points per game FDU's leading scorer (Ava Renninger) is averaging. The sophomore center put up 19 combined points in Iowa's two tournament games a year ago, a total she should easily be able to reach in the first round against Fairleigh Dickinson.

2. Make Sure Everyone Touches The Ball

The speed at which Iowa plays isn't on the same level as a team like UConn or UCLA, but it's still a huge step up in competition from what FDU has been dealing with. Sure, the Knights are averaging just under two more rebounds per game, but Iowa comes into this one averaging seven more assists per game.

Between Kylie Feuerbach, Chit-Chat Wright, and Taylor Stremlow, those three guards are going to decide the game. Heiden will get her points no matter what, but there's little to no chance FDU is able to keep up with the way Iowa moves the ball.

3. Cherish the Home Court Advantage

You knew this was coming 😏

Tickets for the NCAA First & Second Rounds are officially 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐮𝐭! pic.twitter.com/ujxwM7e8lX
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 17, 2026

One doesn't realize just how much of a difference it is to play these first and second round games on your home court. Iowa was sent packing in Oklahoma last year against a Sooners team that looked far better than they should've, simply because they had the home court advantage.

Iowa thrives off of their home crowd like no other. The only game they lost at Carver this year was an abysmal performance against Minnesota where they allowed 91 points. Jensen can guarantee that won't happen in this one as the Knights come in averaging 69.1 points per contest.

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