In another Big Ten showcase, the No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes welcome the No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers in a big Monday matchup. This will be the second of two straight games between these two teams, after the Hawkeyes upset the Hoosiers in Bloomington Saturday, 96-91.
The nation will get another look at sophomore phenomenon Caitlin Clark (26.8 points per game, tops in Division I), who’s looking to bounce back from a poor shooting performance against Indiana, when she shot 7-of-17 from the field and 1-of-5 on threes.
It will be a battle of strength against strength as Iowa’s offense is the top-ranked offense in the Big Ten with 84.5 points per game while Indiana is the second-ranked defense, allowing 60.9 points per game.
Both teams are looking for positive momentum heading into the Big Ten tournament, as the Hawkeyes are fifth and the Hoosiers are second in the conference, respectively. The two teams are a No. 7 and No. 3 seed, respectively, in ESPN’s latest bracketology.
Iowa will be led by its trio of high-scoring stars, which includes Clark, senior Monika Czinano (20.2 points per game) and junior McKenna Warnock (12.2 points per game).
Indiana is reliant upon its five upperclassmen: junior forward Mackenzie Holmes (16.6 points per game), senior guard Grace Berger (16.2 points per game), senior forward Aleksa Gulbe (13.1 points per game), and graduate students Nicole Cardaño-Hillary (11.7 points per game) and Ali Patberg (11.9 points per game).
Game Information
No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes (17-7, 11-4 Big Ten) vs. No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers (19-5, 11-3 Big Ten)
When: Monday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. ET
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, IA
How to watch: Big Ten Network
Key to the matchup: Caitlin Clark vs. Indiana’s defense. In the last game between these two teams, Clark had a somewhat subpar performance as she only shot 7-of-17 for 18 points against the Hoosiers. One of the conference’s top defenses is more than capable of slowing her down as they can make it difficult for her to get a shot off. If she truly wants to become the AP Player of the Year, Clark must find a way to overcome the stifling defense of Indiana and be the efficient scorer she is known for being.