IOWA CITY — After kicking off this week with a road survival against Northwestern, No. 14 Iowa women’s basketball heads back out for another contest that could be trickier in reality than on paper.
The Hawkeyes (13-2, 4-0 Big Ten Conference) will look to keep their unblemished league record alive on Jan. 11, when they visit Indiana (11-6, 0-5) for a 4 p.m. showdown on Big Ten Network. These two teams have delivered some thrillers over the years, which makes this matchup more intriguing than most games against struggling squads.
With that, here are three things to watch ahead of Iowa’s latest Sunday showdown.
Can Iowa avoid being on the wrong end of an inevitable Indiana breakthrough?
Jan Jensen has been at this a while and realizes the false sense of confidence facing a struggling team can provide.
Yes, the Hoosiers are desperate. Teri Moren’s squad enters on a four-game losing streak while having dropped five of eight following an 8-1 start. All of Indiana’s losses since the calendar flipped to 2026 have come against ranked squads — versus Michigan State, at Maryland and at Nebraska — but the Hoosiers were really only competitive in one of those.
Those three stumbles, plus earlier toss-up losses to Illinois and Minnesota, have Indiana in a similar spot as Iowa was in when league play began last season. During Jensen’s inaugural campaign, the Hawkeyes were 2-6 in the Big Ten at one point before salvaging the season with a closing surge.
There are loose parallels to Iowa’s slump-busting win at Washington last Jan. 22, which ended a five-game losing streak and got the Hawkeyes back on track. Jensen hopes this contest doesn’t work similarly for Indiana.
“Everyone who thinks the past is going to predict the future — if you think you’re going to go to Indiana and it’s a whole new deal now just because they’re winless right now — Teri is too good,” Jensen said. “She’ll keep pushing buttons.
“… They’re going to be scary for anybody. Teri is really good. Their staff is really good. As much as it can go one way — if you get a taste and it goes the other — they’re still a really, really good team. Sports, man, they can go one way or the other. But what I see on film, I’m still very concerned. It’s going to be a tough one for us.”
What can Iowa’s bigs learn from the near-disaster foul trouble caused at Northwestern?
The Northwestern win wasn’t exactly supposed to be the foul-trouble bonanza that saw Ava Heiden and Layla Hays struggle to stay on the floor. But the fact that it was offers the perfect lesson on anything can happen when the lights flip on.
So, ahead of facing the Hoosiers, which does boast 6-foot-3 forwards Zania Socka-Nguemen and Maya Makalusky, look for Iowa’s interior weapons to deliver a cleaner game when it comes to simply remaining on the floor.
“A lot of it, I know what I’m doing,” said Hays, who managed four fouls and just one shot in eight minutes against the Wildcats. “And it’s just being more intentional with how I’m playing defense. Making sure I’m not reaching or knowing I need to give a little bit more space.
“It sucks in the moment (getting in foul trouble), but there’s really nothing you can do about it afterwards. You just have to be a good teammate. But just those little things on defense.”
Cautious optimism that Kylie Feuerbach can return for Indiana, even in a limited role
After Kylie Feuerbach (ankle) watched from the bench as Iowa gutted out its Jan. 5 win over Northwestern, Jensen is hopeful Indiana could be her long-awaited return date.
Feuerbach has missed the entirety of Iowa’s last three games and didn’t play much in the one she got hurt in on Dec. 20 versus UConn. While the Hawkeyes defense has done a decent job holding serve with Feuerbach sidelined, it’s clear Iowa is missing her calming veteran presence on the court.
That was certainly evident in the Northwestern win. Iowa was lucky to avoid disaster while trying to adjust on the fly to a game that was not expected to be tight.
“I’m hoping we get a jump with Kylie, especially with the rest (this week),” Jensen said. “It’s just the explosion and the push-off. And with Kylie with defense, she’s got to push off, usually the most of anybody. So this is our bye week. I don’t really like having the bye week so early, but in this case, I do kind of like it because we got two days off of practice (this week).
“We got back so late from Northwestern that we took (Tuesday) off. We’ll take one more day off before Indiana, so I’m hopeful all the therapy and treatment we’re doing. Kylie is going to have to manage some level. Probably won’t be perfect right away, but I’m hopeful, maybe Indiana. But it continues to remain day-to-day.”
Iowa women’s basketball vs. Indiana prediction
The Hawkeyes will get all they can handle from an Indiana team loaded with urgency, but Iowa finds a way to get this one across the finish line in what should be another grueling Big Ten road contest. Iowa 75, Indiana 70.
Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa women’s basketball vs. Indiana prediction, 3 things to watch
Reporting by Dargan Southard, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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