3 takeaways from Iowa women's basketball's Big Ten schedule

Iowa women's basketball revealed its 2026-27 Big Ten schedule on Wednesday evening, completing its full schedule in the process.

As is always the case, the Hawkeyes ' Big Ten slate is loaded with good teams and a series of challenges. What stands out from Iowa's 2026-27 slate, though?

Without further ado, here are three takeaways from Iowa's Big Ten conference schedule:

Iowa opens vs. Nebraska , travels to Michigan State on New Year's Day

Iowa opens Big Ten play with a rivalry matchup against Nebraska at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which will obviously be a huge way to kick off the conference slate. This is especially true considering the Hawkeyes will welcome Iowa State into Carver for the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series matchup just four days later.

As the New Year rings in, the Hawkeyes will visit Breslin Center in East Lansing, Mich., for a New Year's Day clash with the Spartans. Iowa has not faced Michigan State on the road since Dec. 15, 2024, when the Spartans prevailed over the Hawkeyes, 68-66.

How does Iowa handle its West Coast road swing

As Iowa did during the 2024-25 campaign, the Hawkeyes will travel to the Pacific Northwest to play Oregon and Washington on Jan. 24 and Jan. 27, respectively. It's always a challenge attempting to navigate the lengthy travel and time change.

"Anytime you go west, it's challenging because it's out of the normal routine," Iowa head women's basketball coach Jan Jensen said. "We did the Oregon - Washington swing two years ago and the Los Angeles swing last year, so now we know what to expect. I've made some notes on what I'd like to try differently so we can be as refreshed as possible and be as successful as we can while we're out there."

This West Coast trip also comes at the midpoint of their conference schedule, so it could set the tone positively or negatively heading into the back end of the Big Ten slate.

Iowa hosts USC, UCLA in Carver back-to-back

In what will arguably be one of the most impactful three-game stretches of the regular season, the Hawkeyes travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan before hosting JuJu Watkins and USC and the defending national champion UCLA Bruins.

Those dates against USC and UCLA on Feb. 11 and Feb. 14 are contests every Hawkeye fan will have circled on their calendars.

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