Thoughts on the Iowa women's basketball schedule

Although we have just gotten underway with July, the Iowa women’s basketball schedule is nearly complete. We know who the Hawkeyes will play for their 18 conference games, while dates are still to be announced. As for the non-conference slate, Iowa will be playing in several neutral site games and the only puzzle piece missing is their opponents for the Cancun Challenge.

Let’s start things off with the conference schedule. With the addition of the four west coast teams, the Big Ten slate will be comprised of eight home only games, eight away only games and two double plays. The last few years, the Big Ten has scheduled a couple of league contests early in December. Last year, the Hawkeyes faced Wisconsin on December 10th.

Here’s the breakdown of Iowa’s Big Ten schedule…

HOME: Indiana, Maryland, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin

AWAY: Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Oregon, Penn State, Washington

HOME/AWAY: Nebraska

Looking at the home slate, the Hawkeyes got a good draw, with USC and USC traveling to Iowa City. They are the top two teams in the conference and will be top five teams in the preseason AP Poll. Also, given their track record in College Park, it’s good to see Maryland coming to Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Games against Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers and Wisconsin should all be fairly comfortable wins.

As for the away slate, there is not a single easy game for the Hawkeyes. A trip to Columbus to face Ohio State headlines this portion of the schedule, but seven of those eight opponents are entering the season with reasonable NCAA Tournament hopes. It will be the first ever that Iowa travels to Eugene for a basketball game.

It was no surprise to see Nebraska come up as the double play. They played three times last season, including games that came down to the wire in Lincoln and in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game. Expect those to be hotly contested games once again this season.

Looking at the first portion of the non-conference schedule, the Hawkeyes will play five neutral site games, including playing at the first ever Women’s Champions Classic in Brooklyn. Getting invited to that was a big deal, as it shows where Iowa currently stands as a program.

Here’s a look at the neutral site games for the Hawkeyes…

November 10th – Ally Tipoff – vs Virginia Tech in Charlotte, NC

November 20th – Sanford Pentagon Game – vs Kansas in Sioux Falls, SD

November 28-30 – Cancun Challenge – (BYU, Rhode Island, Rice, Idaho State, New Mexico State)

December 7th – Women’s Champions Classic – vs Tennessee in Brooklyn, NY

As far as NCAA NET rankings, Virginia Tech finished 19th, Tennessee was 30th and Kansas was 38th. It is important to note that all three of those teams will look very different compared to last season. Virginia Tech and Tennessee will be breaking in first year head coaches, while Kansas will look different with a couple of mid-major transfers. The games against the Jayhawks and Volunteers will be solid matchups against fringe NCAA Tournament teams prior to facing a grueling Big Ten schedule.

Here’s a look at the rest of the non-conference slate…

November 6th – vs Northern Illinois – 244th in the NCAA NET

November 13th – vs Toledo – 67th in the NCAA NET

November 24th – vs Washington State – 29th in the NCAA NET

December 11th – vs Iowa State – 33rd in the NCAA NET

Date TBD – at Drake – 65th in the NCAA NET

Date TBD – vs Northern Iowa – 96th in the NCAA NET

Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be rocking for the December 11th matchup against an Iowa State team that will likely be inside the top ten. They are the clear headliner on the entire non-conference schedule. It will be the fourth time in five seasons that the Cyclones will be ranked coming into the matchup.

The other interesting game here is the trip to Knapp Center to face Drake. Last time the Hawkeyes traveled to Des Moines it was an overtime thriller. The Bulldogs are the projected favorite in the MVC coming into the season, so it could be another really entertaining game.

Outside of the in-state rivalries, the Hawkeyes will host Northern Illinois in the season-opener (13th meeting), Toledo (1st meeting) and Washington State (3rd meeting).

Final Thoughts

The non-conference schedule may end up only have a couple of NCAA Tournament teams on it, but games against Iowa State, Tennessee, Drake, Kansas and Washington State will all be enteraining. It’s really the perfect non-conference schedule for an Iowa team that has quite a bit of roster turnover from last year, plus Jan Jensen taking over as head coach. Yes, the Hawkeyes could be a preseason top 25 team, but there a new pieces in new roles, so it will take some time to get things rolling smoothly. The Hawkeyes could be favored in ten of their 11 games, while Iowa State is in Iowa City.

As for the Big Ten slate, it will be as rough and tumble as it has ever been. According to ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Bracketology update in May, the Hawkeyes will play 11 of their 18 games against teams in the top 76, which includes the field of 68 and the first eight teams out. Gone are the days where you can get a lucky draw with double plays against Northwestern and Rutgers (sorry guys). The good news is that outside of UCLA and USC, Iowa could be favored in the majority of the rest of their games. One thing is certain, the new look Big Ten is going to deliver some pretty great matchups. Buckle up for a really fun season.