Iowa Finally Cracks Top 10 in AP Poll

For the first time in two years, the Iowa Hawkeyes are in the Top 10 of the AP women's basketball poll.

Their accomplishment comes on the heels of a stellar 75-68 victory over No. 15 Michigan State.

Even though the Spartans came up short, their victory over No. 24 Nebraska was enough to push them up to No. 13. Some other teams around them losing certainly helped, but this is a huge win for Iowa to have on their resume.

The ranked opponents don't stop here as Iowa heads to No. 15 Maryland on January 22 and will end the week hosting No. 12 Ohio State.

Iowa Highlights Tons of B1G Movement

Iowa cracked the top 10 for the first time in two years and UConn remained the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll. https://t.co/AyfA5xRQf1
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) January 19, 2026

To no surprise, there was no change in the Top 6. UConn, South Carolina, UCLA, Texas, Vanderbilt and LSU all remained in that order.

Iowa's thrilling showdown with No. 3 UCLA can't come soon enough, but who knows how either team will look by the time February 1 comes around.

Michigan jumped to No. 7 as each of the teams 7-10 all rose one spot. Iowa was able to take advantage of a bad week for Kentucky which dropped the Wildcats four spots down to No. 11.

Elsewhere in the B1G, Ohio State jumped from No. 14 to No. 12 as the aforementioned Spartans saw an increase of two spots as well.

Baylor is back up to No. 14 as the Bears surged four more spots. They continue to rise in the rankings after suffering some early season defeats, one of their three being to Iowa.

Other ranked B1G teams include: No. 15 Maryland, No. 24 Nebraska, and No. 25 Washington.

Iowa's Updated Schedule vs. Ranked Opponents

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Iowa Women's Basketball moves up one spot to #10 in the latest AP Top 25 with their 16-2 overall record.

The Hawkeyes face #15 Maryland and #12 Ohio State this week.
— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) January 19, 2026

Iowa is in the midst of a three game stretch that sees them playing Michigan State, Maryland and Ohio State. Coming off their win against the Spartans, they seem to have caught the Terrapins at the right time.

Maryland has dropped two of their last three, though it's important to note those losses are against the Buckeyes and Bruins. There's no shame in losing to two ranked teams, and they'll be hungry for a rebound win at home against a red-hot Iowa squad.

The Hawkeyes still have six ranked teams standing in their way of a perfect B1G record. That's going to be much easier said than done, and there's always a chance this team could slip up on the road against an unranked squad like USC or Wisconsin.

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