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topicnews · September 20, 2024

Insights from the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten schedule

Insights from the Hawkeyes’ Big Ten schedule

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Although she has since moved on to greener basketball realms, it didn’t take long for Caitlin Clark to appear on Thursday’s broadcast to announce the Big Ten basketball team’s schedule.

The Hawkeyes were among the first women’s basketball teams mentioned on the hour-long Big Ten Network broadcast announcing their schedule. The conversation centered on the fact that this is the first team Iowa will face after Clark’s tenure. When you take a closer look at Iowa’s conference schedule, it’s clear there are some Clark holdovers in other areas as well.

Here are three takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ schedule in the first division within the expanded Big Ten.

The Iowa women’s basketball team will pull out all the stops for its two home games against the top-ranked Los Angeles schools.

Assuming Iowa can hold its own through February, the Hawkeyes have two big stages ahead of them to build their confidence, build their NCAA Tournament resume and more.

Iowa hosts USC and national player of the year candidate JuJu Watkins on Feb. 2, followed by a visit to projected No. 1 seed UCLA on Feb. 23. Both games are on Sundays, giving Carver-Hawkeye Arena two great opportunities to create a loud, hostile atmosphere. The Trojans and Bruins have Big Ten title aspirations in their first years here, and avoiding an upset against Iowa late in the season could play a role in that.

It’s a bit unreasonable to expect Iowa to repeat last season’s incredible home performance this year, especially because Clark has set an absurd standard in that and many other areas. But given the newness of USC and UCLA and their impressive record in women’s basketball, it’s easy to imagine both games being sold out and having the potential to pull off an upset.

Speaking of Sundays, the Hawkeyes were generously rewarded with several home games on the weekend.

This is where the Clark carryover really seems to come into play. Not only does Iowa have its two toughest home games in the conference this weekend, the Hawkeyes also have four more Sunday games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena after Christmas. In total, that means Iowa will play 67% of its Big Ten home games on the weekend.

That hardly seems like a coincidence considering how many home games Iowa had last season. Sunday has always been the biggest day in sports. And even without Clark, it’s clear that the Big Ten values ​​Iowa enough to give Carver-Hawkeye Arena multiple chances to put its best foot forward. Here are the six Big Ten home games Iowa has on Sundays.

  • December 29: against Purdue
  • 5 January: against Maryland
  • January 12: against Indiana
  • February 2: against USC
  • February 23: against UCLA
  • March 2: against Wisconsin

Iowa will undoubtedly appreciate its home field advantage and will therefore create great opportunities.

It is imperative that Iowa pick up early wins in conference play as the Hawkeyes face a difficult February.

Of the nine other Big Ten teams listed in Charlie Creme’s ESPN preseason bracketology other than Iowa, the Hawkeyes will face six in February alone. Four of those will be on the road. In particular, games against USC (Feb. 2), at Minnesota (Feb. 6), at Nebraska (Feb. 10), at Ohio State (Feb. 17), UCLA (Feb. 23) and at Michigan (Feb. 26) could all have NCAA Tournament implications.

Iowa hopes to have its roster perfected by the time it gets to the final stretch, but the Hawkeyes have no time to waste in getting their footing in the Big Ten. There are plenty of late opportunities to make a statement if clarity is needed in the postseason, but entering February with a mediocre record could lead to a rough finish.

View the full 2024-25 Iowa women’s basketball schedule

  • October 30: vs. Missouri Western (Drama)
  • 6 November: against Northern Illinois
  • 10 November: against Virginia Tech (Charlotte)
  • 13 November: against Toledo
  • 17 November: at Drake
  • 20 November: against Kansas (Sioux Falls)
  • 24 November: against the State of Washington
  • 28 November: against Rhode Island (Cancun Challenge)
  • 29 November: against BYU (Cancun Challenge)
  • December 7: against Tennessee (Brooklyn)
  • December 11: against Iowa State
  • December 15: at Michigan State
  • December 20: against Northern Iowa
  • December 29: against Purdue
  • January 1: at Penn State
  • January 5: against Maryland
  • January 9: in Illinois
  • January 12: against Indiana
  • 16 January: against Nebraska
  • 19 January: in Oregon
  • January 22: in Washington
  • January 28: against Northwestern
  • February 2: against USC
  • February 6: in Minnesota
  • February 10: in Nebraska
  • February 13: against Rutgers
  • February 17: at Ohio State
  • February 23: against UCLA
  • February 26: Michigan
  • March 2: against Wisconsin

Dargan Southard is a sports reporter who covers Iowa track and field for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. You can email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

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