Iowa Set To Begin Toughest Stretch Of Season

In the next two weeks, four of the Iowa Hawkeyes five games are against ranked opponents.

Jan Jensen's squad currently sits at 15-2 (6-0) as their undefeated B1G record will be put to the test.

Thankfully for Iowa, two of those ranked games are at home, with the other two on the road. That does include a trip to the West Coast for a pair of games against USC and UCLA, with all eyes on their Feb. 1 showdown against the Bruins.

Whether or not the Hawkeyes and Bruins are still undefeated by then remains to be seen, but everything is building up towards one of Iowa's toughest schedules to date. If this stretch wasn't bad enough, they end the season with three more ranked opponents in their last five games.

Iowa Prepares For Three Straight Ranked Opponents

A top-15 matchup in CHA 🤩 pic.twitter.com/HqZ5QulSDp
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 18, 2026

Looking ahead at Feb. 16 or the 26, No. 24 Nebraska or No. 25 Illinois may not be ranked. Those games are still up in the air, but they're a tough challenge regardless.

In the next week, Iowa is tasked with playing three teams that are all in the Top 15. Their journey begins with hosting No. 15 Michigan State. After that, they'll have a few days of rest before playing at No. 12 Maryland. From there, they return home for a showdown with No. 14 Ohio State.

Iowa Hawkeyes guards Kylie Feuerbach and Sydney Affolter — Iowa Hawkeyes guard Kylie Feuerbach (4) and Iowa Hawkeyes guard Sydney Affolter (3) celebrate after defeating the USC Trojans 76-69 during a Big Ten women's basketball game Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

One could call Iowa's game at USC a reset, but there's nothing worse than flying across the country for a weeknight game. Once Iowa gets done with the Trojans, they'll have two days to get back into shape before playing at No. 3 UCLA. Keep in mind, the Bruins' lone loss this season was to No. 4 Texas.

Make Or Break For Iowa

Buy stock now 📈 📈@deal_addie x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/hfu9tw5eDU
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) January 17, 2026

Iowa State has collapsed, so the Hawkeyes' loss to them on Dec. 10 no longer looks so good. Obviously, no one can take away their performance against No. 1 UConn, a team that has yet to be beaten.

The Hawkeyes proved themselves against No. 20 Nebraska, but other than that, the only ranked win they have is in Orlando against No. 7 Baylor. Keep in mind, the Cornhuskers dropped four spots and the Bears have dropped 11.

Regardless, Iowa has already shown it's able to compete against top teams. Tossing the UConn game aside, they nearly came back against the Cyclones and now all eyes will be on their second-year head coach to see what this team is truly capable of.

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!