Women's Basketball Breakdown: Iowa vs. Purdue

Breaking down Sunday's game between Iowa and Purdue.

Game facts

Time and place — 1 p.m. (CST), Mackey Arena, West Lafayette, Ind.

TV — BTN-Plus (online)

Radio — Hawkeye Radio Network

Records — Iowa 19-4 (10-2 Big Ten), Purdue 15-9 (6-6)

Rankings — Iowa is No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and USA Today coaches poll.

Series — Purdue leads, 40-32

The lineups

Iowa — Monika Czinano (C, 6-3, Soph., 15.1 ppg.), Amanda Ollinger (F, 6-1, Sr., 7.3 ppg.), Alexis Sevillian (G, 5-9, Jr., 7.1 ppg.), Kathleen Doyle (G, 5-9, Sr., 18.5 ppg.), Makenzie Meyer (G, 5-9, Sr., 14.5 ppg.)

Purdue — Ae'Rianna Harris (F, 6-1, Sr., 13.3 ppg.), Jenelle Grant (F, 6-0, Jr., 4.3 ppg.), Karissa McLaughlin (G, 5-7, Jr., 13.1 ppg.), Cassidy Hardin (G, 5-10, Soph., 3.7 ppg.), Dominique Oden (G, 5-8, Sr., 13.2 ppg.)

What to watch

The Hawkeyes are on the road for two crucial games, and the second one is at Maryland, the team Iowa is tied with for first place in the Big Ten.

Which means the Hawkeyes can't overlook the Boilermakers.

Six games are left in the Big Ten's regular season, and the Hawkeyes are one of three teams with two losses, along with Maryland and Northwestern. Iowa has tiebreakers over both, but they can't squander that capital with a loss somewhere else.

Purdue is an interesting matchup. Three players — Harris, Oden and McLaughlin — have basically the same scoring average, which means Iowa's defense can't focus on just one player.

It helps the Hawkeyes getting Czinano back in the starting lineup — she has become a tough matchup for opposing post players, and with McKenna Warnock growing as a freshman, Iowa has become a difficult cover for teams.

Every game is precious now in the standings. Mackey Arena is a difficult place to play, and this is a difficult road stretch for the Hawkeyes. If they can survive it, they can put themselves in position to win the league.