Iowa basketball has returned from its trip to the Pacific Northwest and will play host to Northwestern on Sunday at 2 p.m. CT.
The Hawkeye men (17-5, 7-4 Big Ten) beat Oregon 84-66 and Washington 84-74 and have won five straight.
The Wildcats (10-13, 2-10) have lost two straight, vs. Washington 76-62 and at Illinois 84-44.
Here’s our prediction for Sunday’s Big Ten contest.
Iowa basketball vs. Northwestern prediction
Riding a five-game winning streak, it’s important that the Hawkeyes avoid a letdown against inferior competition over the next two games. That begins with Northwestern on Sunday.
The Wildcats (10-13, 2-10) have won only two games since the calendar turned to 2026, as Chris Collins’ squad has struggled mightily. Northwestern is coming off a 40-point blowout loss at Illinois, in which the Wildcats scored just 44 points.
Northwestern does have an explosive scorer in Nick Martinelli, whose 22.8 points per game are among the most in Division I this season. The Hawkeyes will have to devise and execute a good game plan to not let Martinelli go nuclear.
Despite travel and the time change, Iowa didn’t show fatigue in its Pacific Northwest road trip, sweeping games against Oregon and Washington. It’ll be interesting to see if the Hawkeyes continue to display their endurance as they play their third game in eight days.
On paper, Iowa is very clearly the better team. It’s just a matter of showing it on the floor against Northwestern.
Iowa 73, Northwestern 60
―Tyler Tachman
