UConn and Iowa will launch a rare home-and-home series next season, beginning with Iowa hosting at UConn on Nov. 8 before UConn travels to Carver-Hawkeye in 2027-28. The schedule adds fuel to a rivalry defined by close calls, including Iowa’s 71-69 Final Four
When UConn and Iowa finally share the court again, it won’t be a one-off matchup—it will start a new rhythm for one of women’s college basketball’s biggest stages.
Iowa and UConn will begin a home-and-home series next season. The Hawkeyes will travel to UConn for a non-conference game on Nov. 8, then the Huskies will head to Iowa City for a return trip at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the 2027-28 season. For Iowa fans. the timing matters because it ends a long stretch of absence in the rivalry: UConn hasn’t played at Iowa in more than two decades. with its last visit to Carver-Hawkeye in 1999.
The rarity of these meetings only sharpens the stakes. UConn holds a 7-4 all-time lead over Iowa. but Iowa has the most recent win—and it came in a moment that still feels razor-thin. In the 2024 Final Four in Cleveland. a Lisa Bluder-coached Iowa team edged Geno Auriemma’s Huskies 71-69. in a game that turned on the final seconds.
Caitlin Clark—named the consensus National Player of the Year that season—finished with 21 points. but the closeout was the story. UConn trailed by one point with nine seconds left after KK Arnold stole the ball. On the ensuing possession. referees whistled UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards for an illegal screen with 3.9 seconds remaining. giving the ball back to Iowa.
Clark was fouled and hit the first free throw, but missed the next. Iowa recovered the rebound with 1.1 seconds to go, then executed on the second of two inbounds plays to secure the win.
Afterward, the frustration wasn’t subtle. “I’m just frustrated with the loss,” Paige Bueckers said. “I mean, we can talk about officiating, but players play. Players decide the game.”
The series now arrives with another layer of uncertainty and hope for UConn. Geno Auriemma has commented on Sarah Strong’s performance at the Final Four. along with a leg injury that may have affected her game. The Huskies, though, are planning for Strong to return—Sarah Strong is back for the frontcourt.
Iowa is counting on Ava Heiden as its star in the front court. And both programs are stepping into their new scheduling agreement with fresh damage control and ambition behind them. UConn is coming off a season that began with a historic 38-0 run before ending in the Final Four. where it lost to South Carolina. Iowa, in coach Jan Jensen’s second year, was upset on its home floor in the second round by Virginia.
Looking forward, the rivalry gets even more compelling because it lands while UConn builds an aggressive non-conference stretch. The Huskies’ schedule also features matchups with South Carolina. Duke. Michigan. and Maryland. placing the start of the UConn-Iowa series into a wider test of how the teams respond to pressure and high-level matchups.
For fans of both programs. the hope is simple: that when these teams meet again. the late-game drama doesn’t end with one side looking back at officiating and missed moments. Next season’s Nov. 8 visit to UConn—and the return trip to Iowa City in 2027-28—promises a rare second act for a rivalry that has been waiting a long time for its next chapter.
UConn Iowa Hawkeyes women’s college basketball home-and-home series Geno Auriemma Jan Jensen Caitlin Clark Paige Bueckers Sarah Strong Ava Heiden Final Four
Finally UConn and Iowa again. About time tbh.
Nov 8 at UConn?? I thought it was always Iowa hosting like every year or something. Basketball scheduling makes no sense, I swear.
Wait so it’s like a home-and-home but the first game is at Iowa hosting UConn? I’m confused. Also that 71-69 thing… Edwards illegal screen sounds made up, like refs just decided it late.
Iowa hasn’t played UConn in 20+ years and now it’s gonna be a “new rhythm” or whatever. But the rivalry already decided in 2024, like Caitlin Clark was the whole story even if it was super close. I just hope the crowd is loud because Carver-Hawkeye is always wild.