While most Iowa fans are preparing to plop on their couches for a busy Saturday of college football viewing, one of the most important games of Iowa women's basketball's 2026-27 season is just one day away. 

It may not be crucial for the win column considering the season is just two games old, but when you look at the opponent on the other side, the 10th-ranked Hawkeyes have a massive opportunity to insert themselves as a very early national title favorite.

Who is the opponent you may ask? The No. 2 Connecticut Huskies, arguably the most successful program in women's college basketball. And it's not even a neutral site game, either. Iowa will be making the long trek to Storrs, Connecticut for an electric Sunday matinee right up against the NFL slate. 

This has the potential to be a really good basketball game, so we figured it would be important to release our game preview one day in advance. 

Here's everything you need to know about this colossal matchup, including game time, TV channel, prediction, and so much more. 

Matchup: No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes (2-0) @ No. 2 Connecticut Huskies (1-1) 

Location: Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, CT 

Scheduled game time: Nov. 8 at 1 p.m. CDT 

TV: FS1 

Announcers: Kelsie Kasper (play-by-play) and Isis “Ice” Young (analyst)

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network (Jon Swisher, Kathryn Reynolds) 

Series history: UConn leads 7-3 

Bart Torvik T-rank: No. 1 

Head coach: Geno Auriemma, 42nd season 

Career record: 1,289–167 (.885)

Iowa fans are probably aware of this by now, but these two storied programs have a rich recent history with each other. They made national headlines by meeting in the 2024 Final Four, a game which Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes won by two points, 71-69 on the way to a second straight appearance in the national championship game. Iowa and UConn met in a rematch last season in the Shark Beauty Women's Champions Classic on Dec. 20, but the Huskies got their revenge with a 90-64 victory. 

Returning for his 42nd season on the sidelines is Geno Auriemma, who continues to maintain UConn's status as a women's basketball blue blood at age 72. The Huskies went 38-1 in 2025-26 before losing to South Carolina in the Final Four. Though there is some roster turnover in 2027, UConn is again expected to be in national title contention. 

Why? Because reigning Naismith Player of the Year Sarah Strong is on the team. Strong has been one of the best players in college basketball since arriving on campus as a freshman in 2024, and she's still only beginning her third year. The 6-foot-2 forward tallied 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last year, including 23 points against Iowa last year. 

Losing Azzi Fudd was a big loss for this UConn team, but it still has a talented supporting cast of rising senior KK Arnold (6.8 PPG, 4.6 APG last year), promising underclassmen Blanca Quinonez (10.7 PPG, 3.1 RPG last year), Jovana Popovic (22 PPG this year) and Olivia Vukosa (6.5 boards per game this year). The bottom line: the Huskies are younger this year, but extremely talented. 

Iowa matches up pretty well with this UConn team considering its experience, but in my opinion, there are two factors working against the Hawkeyes here.

The first is the fact that this game is taking place in Storrs and not on a neutral site. Though Iowa has shown some flashes in its first two games of the year, it would make complete sense if Jan Jensen is a little uneasy about this game because her team is still trying to develop chemistry and knock down outside shots. The Hawkeyes are just 17-of-57 (29%) from beyond the arc through two games, an area that definitely needs to see some improvement. It certainly won't be easy, though, as UConn yielded only 50.4 points per contest last year - the best in the nation. 

Navigating the always-tough environment inside Gampel Pavilion will be a challenge for Iowa, but another problem here is that the Huskies are coming into this game on the heels of an upset loss at No. 5 Michigan on Thursday evening. UConn just doesn't lose back-to-back games very often, and as a matter of fact, it's only done that once since 1993 (2022-23 season). 

I think the Hawkeyes will keep this game close for a while, but the Huskies will ultimately pull away midway through the second half and secure a big victory. 

Prediction: UConn 78, Iowa 60