Inside The Hawkeyes

Iowa’s Three Potential Opponents in B1G Quarterfinals

There are three teams that have a chance of facing the No. 2 Iowa Hawkeyes on March 6.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Iowa assistant coach Lasondra Barrett huddles with Iowa’s Ava Heiden (5), Taylor Stremlow (1) and Kylie Feuerbach (4) during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini Feb. 26, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa assistant coach Lasondra Barrett huddles with Iowa’s Ava Heiden (5), Taylor Stremlow (1) and Kylie Feuerbach (4) during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini Feb. 26, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes are one of four teams to have a double-bye in the 15 team B1G tournament.

No. 12 Nebraska and No. 13 Indiana kick off tournament action as they're followed by another pair of first round games on March 4.

If one of those six teams wants to run the gauntlet they'll have to win five games in the span of five days. Clearly, one can now see how beneficial not having to play an extra two games clearly is.

No. 2 Iowa advanced straight to the quarterfinals where they'll await either the No. 15 seed, No. 10 seed, or No. 7 seed.

No. 15 Wisconsin

The Badgers have lost nine straight games and somehow found a way to limp into the conference tournament. Keep in mind, not every team makes it. Wisconsin got off to a strong enough start where not even their horrendous 2026 record (4-12) was enough to keep them out of it.

Most importantly though, Iowa just crushed the Badgers, in Madison no less. Wisconsin lost that game 81-52 but the Hawkeyes win didn't do enough to keep them out of the tournament entirely. Either way, Iowa shouldn't have anything to worry about if Wisconsin somehow manages to win their first two games.

No. 10 Illinois

For reference, The Fighting Illini took down Wisconsin back on February 11, 92-60. If that game is any indication of what's to come, Iowa has a safe guess as to who will be squaring off in the second round.

When it comes to a potential Iowa vs. Illinois showdown, Iowa has a bit more to be concerned about. This is a tough Fighting Illini squad, one that came to Carver and nearly knocked off a Hawkeyes team that just beat No. 6 Michigan.

Iowa prevailed, 82-78, but Illinois taking down Wisconsin and Michigan State would give them plenty of momentum ahead of a rematch with the Hawkeyes.

No. 7 Michigan State

The Spartans earned a first-round bye as they'll play at 6:30 p.m. EST on March 5. Michigan State is currently the No. 18 ranked team in the AP Top 25. All season long they've consistently been around that number.

Should Illinois take care of business, MSU would play them in a rematch of their January 4 showdown where the Spartans prevailed, 81-75.

Three games later, MSU dropped a game at Carver, 75-68. That was a huge Top 15 win for Iowa as the Spartans were ranked No. 15 at the time. Iowa knows they're in for a tough battle against either Illinois or Michigan State, but it's crazy to say they might actually prefer to play a Spartans team who has lost three of their last five and six of their last 11.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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