Big Ten announces Hawkeye women's 2018-19 conference opponents

The Iowa women’s basketball team learned its Big Ten Conference lineup Thursday afternoon, as the league announced the 2018-19 opponents for each school.

The Hawkeyes will have home-and-home series with five opponents: Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska and Purdue. Iowa will face Maryland, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Rutgers just at home, while only traveling to Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State.

Lisa Bluder’s squad went 24-8 last season, finishing fifth in the Big Ten at 11-5. The Hawkeyes returned to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2014-15 season and fell to Creighton in the opening round.

Next season’s team will carry high expectations. Iowa returns all but one key contributor, including standout forward Megan Gustafson.

ESPN’s Charlie Crème had the Hawkeyes 17th in his “Way Too Early” top 25 for 2018-19.

Previous coverage:

• Megan Gustafson named AP second-team All-American
• Iowa heading toward high expectations after gritty season
• Hawkeyes learn lesson on the perils of March

Dargan Southard covers preps, recruiting, Iowa and UNI athletics for the Iowa City Press-Citizen, The Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.