No. 14 Iowa faces Northwestern after Wright’s 24-point game

By Canadian Press on January 4, 2026.

Iowa Hawkeyes (12-2, 3-0 Big Ten) at Northwestern Wildcats (6-8, 0-3 Big Ten)

Evanston, Illinois; Monday, 8:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: No. 14 Iowa visits Northwestern after Chazadi Wright scored 24 points in Iowa’s 86-76 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

The Wildcats have gone 4-3 at home. Northwestern is 2-1 in games decided by 3 points or fewer.

The Hawkeyes are 3-0 in Big Ten play. Iowa is the Big Ten leader with 27.9 defensive rebounds per game led by Ava Heiden averaging 6.1.

Northwestern averages 67.2 points, 5.3 more per game than the 61.9 Iowa allows. Iowa has shot at a 50.3% rate from the field this season, 7.6 percentage points above the 42.7% shooting opponents of Northwestern have averaged.

The Wildcats and Hawkeyes meet Monday for the first time in conference play this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Grace Sullivan is averaging 23 points and 7.5 rebounds for the Wildcats. Tayla Thomas is averaging 10.8 points over the last 10 games.

Heiden is averaging 15.7 points and 7.8 rebounds for the Hawkeyes. Hannah Stuelke is averaging 14.8 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Wildcats: 2-8, averaging 66.2 points, 29.9 rebounds, 18.0 assists, 6.0 steals and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting 42.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 78.1 points per game.

Hawkeyes: 8-2, averaging 79.2 points, 36.2 rebounds, 20.7 assists, 8.2 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.4 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

The Associated Press