Iowa Women's Basketball: Takeaways, Expectations for the Hawkeyes' Big Ten Schedule

The Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team is reloading for the 2026-27 season. They brought in elite high school talent, dug into the portal for plug-and-play starters, and brought back veteran scorers ready to take the next step.

After a strong campaign last year was cut short by an untimely upset in the Round of 32 of the NCAA Women's Tournament, the Hawkeyes are ready to regroup and prove it was a fluke and that this program belongs among the elite in women's college basketball.

To prove it, the Hawkeyes will have to handle a Big Ten schedule.

Booked and busy in the Big Ten 📅

Our full 2026-27 conference schedule is here: https://t.co/JRu5HAsytH pic.twitter.com/Y5Yxyl8QnH
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) September 16, 2026

Iowa can make some hay early

The games are played on the hardwood, as we all know, but looking ahead at Iowa's Big Ten schedule, the beginning of it opens the door for Iowa to go on a serious run and stack some wins early in conference play.

Yes, there can be stumbles and off nights or an evening where your opponent can't miss, but looking at it, Iowa could plausibly get out to as much as an 11-0 start in conference play.

The Hawkeyes open up with Nebraska (twice), Illinois, Michigan State, Rutgers, Minnesota, Northwestern, Indiana, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin, before seeing Michigan. Is it overzealous to think Iowa sweeps that? Maybe.

The downside? The back half of conference play is loaded. Iowa sees Michigan, USC, UCLA, Maryland, and Ohio State down the stretch, which is no easy task to get through for any team in the country.

One defining week

Looking at the schedule, it's impossible to ignore the week of February 7 through February 14. Iowa goes on the road to Michigan, then returns to Carver-Hawkeye Arena to take on USC and UCLA, whom they get at home this year, fortunately.

This three-game stretch is going to teach us a lot about the Hawkeyes and how they look against some of the top teams in women's basketball.

13-5 in Big Ten play has to be the floor

I just don't see a world where any fewer than 13 wins is a successful campaign in the Big Ten for Jan Jensen and her squad. It's an extremely lofty standard to hold a team to, but when you want to be viewed among the very best, these are the expectations.

Iowa isn't going to be viewed as the conference favorite, but this team has the experience and talent to knock off a top team or two and put themselves in position to be the No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.

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