Iowa vs. Nebraska Predictions: Sorry, Britt Prince

Having lost two of their last four, the Iowa Hawkeyes know their about to face their toughest stretch of the season. They may have gotten past Penn State with ease, but the same can't be said about their next opponent.

Thankfully for the No. 14 Hawkeyes, they're able to play the No. 20 Cornhuskers at home. Iowa sits at 11-2 (2-0) as Nebraska makes the trip on New Years Day with their 12-1 (1-1) record.

Nebraska is coming off a 74-66 loss to No. 17 USC on December 29. Iowa should be the fresher team, but it's not like Nebraska had to go to Los Angeles to play the Trojans. Either way, these two teams have three combined losses since December 10.

1. Iowa Dominates The Cornhuskers Forwards

Bold & Gold 🤩 pic.twitter.com/tWZzPZqbWv
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 1, 2026

Two names worth keeping an eye on are sophomore Amiah Hargrove and junior Jessica Petrie. Both are 6'2'' and are the focal point of this offense when sophomore guard Britt Prince isn't doing her thing.

Prince not only leads Nebraska in scoring, but assists as well. She's someone that will be talked about momentarily, but Hargrove and Petrie are as good as they are because of Prince's presence.

Keep in mind, Iowa is averaging roughly seven more rebounds per game. As long as they use their height and physical gameplay to their advantage, Hargrove and Petrie shouldn't be an issue.

2. Britt Prince Is Silenced

The Cornhuskers entire gameplan revolves around the Nebraska native. Prince not only is averaging a game high 18.5 points per game, but she's averaging a game high 4.5 assists per game as well. No Hawkeyes player is averaging more than 15.5 points per game or 3.7 asssits per game.

Without Prince, this Nebraska offense is nothing. Prince makes her forwards better, and the team knows they need her to succeed. Iowa's been able to lock down key players before, so they shouldn't have an issue isolating the second year player.

3. Ava Heiden Stays Hot

Heiden making moves 😤@ava_heiden x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/7cDcswcssA
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) December 31, 2025

Sophomore Petra Bozan and seniro Eliza Maupin both stand 6'3'' but Heiden will still be the tallest player on the court. It'll be interesting to see if either of those players get more minutes as neither is averaging more than 18 coming into this game.

Heiden is fresh off a career high 27 point performance against Penn State. She looked unstoppable against the Nittany Lions, and it's finally her time to dominate against a ranked opponent. With momentum on her side, Heiden should have no issue replicating her double-double performance against Baylor from Orlando.

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