Iowa head coach Ben McCollum directs his team during a basketball game against the USC Trojans Jan. 28, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa's Tournament Hopes Run Through Top 12 Schedule

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Feb 20, 2026 6:00 PM ET

While a Top 10 win should be more than enough to get the Iowa Hawkeyes into the NCAA Tournament, they still need to take care of business down the stretch.

With just five games remaining, Iowa knows three of those come against ranked opponents.

No. 24 Wisconsin, No. 1 Michigan, and No. 9 Nebraska all face this Hawkeyes team along with unranked Ohio State and Penn State.

Iowa had the 60th ranked schedule nationally up until this point, but now it jumps to No. 12. That's a huge increase for a team hoping to end a multi-year tournament drought.

Iowa Would Love Another Ranked Win

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Beating No. 9 Nebraska at Carver was one thing, but the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers play each other once more to end the season. They could very well meet in the B1G tournament as well, but for now all eyes are on the March 8 rematch.

No. 24 Wisconsin just got beat on the road at Ohio State, a team Iowa will be playing after they travel to Madison. Come February 22, it's time for Iowa to show they have what it takes to not only beat a ranked opponent at home, but handle business on the road as well.

One of the main reasons they have the fourth toughest remaining schedule in the B1G is because they're tasked with playing the No. 1 team in the country. The Wolverines come to town on March 5 in a game that could shock people, or end up in the ultimate blowout where Iowa gets embarrassed in-front of their home crowd.

Penn State Should Be Easy, Ohio State Won't Be

Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa ending their 2025-26 season on a five-game losing streak would be horrendous. They're currently projected to be a No. 8 seed, but it's not like they're a lock to make the tournament.

ESPN currently gives them a 96% chance, but at the end of the day anything can happen. No one would fault this team for losing three of their last five, but the OSU game is far from a lock.

Going 1-4 to end the year after taking down the No. 9 team doesn't send the best message to the committee. Iowa would still have a chance to prove themselves in the B1G tournament, but at the very least they need to beat both the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions. Winning those games gets them into the tournament, but another ranked win along the way helps their seeding tremendously.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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