Expectations?

[iThinkiWill]

Not many posters here have the courage to criticize, to this point, an underachieving HC.

Or make a statement that might not be popular.

Personally, I say what I want because I'm able to be objective.

Jan Jensen seems overwhelmed so far. Maybe it's as simple as her asst coaches aren't very good?

I just do not understand how you can objectively criticize Jan Jensen for underachieving and the truth is that not many posters here feel the need to criticize her. I think that most posters here would say that Jan Jensen has, by most objective accounts, exceeded expectations (ie overachieved).

“The success that JJ has had over her first two seasons is undeniable. It is even more remarkable that in her first season, she inherited a team that lost the equivalent of four 4-year starters which is an unprecedented loss of experience in just one season for any team.

CC, KM, GM and MD combined for 525 career starts (618 games played), 14,052 career minutes and 8206 career points! Furthermore, two (GM and MD) were in their fifth year and one (KM) was in her sixth year, adding extra maturity on top of experience. And finally two of them were drafted to the WNBA

Many fans did not believe that they would even make it into the NCAA Tournament, let alone the second round. Iowa was similarly misjudged prior to this past season.

I cannot understand how anyone could be critical of JJ for the way that the team very clearly and undeniably overachieved literally everyone’s expectations. My only explanation is that some people just want to focus on the negative for no good reason.”

*****2026-27 Transfer Portal News***** - Page 51 - Forums

Let the fun begin

www.on3.com

 

[Wobmam Rulez!]

To be fair, 6/11 on this roster weren’t on the team last year and 9/11 weren’t on the team two years ago.

Michigan won the men's title earlier this year. Their top 6 players weren't on the team the year before. The UCLA women's team earlier this year, too was filled with portal additions. Unfortunately, this might be the new norm. Hopefully, it works for Iowa. We do have a nice core returning.

 

[Jonesy5960]

Not many posters here have the courage to criticize, to this point, an underachieving HC.

Or make a statement that might not be popular.

Personally, I say what I want because I'm able to be objective.

Jan Jensen seems overwhelmed so far. Maybe it's as simple as her asst coaches aren't very good?

Courage? You're on an anonymous message board with a handle that starts out with Anon. You really are a profile in courage.

 

[Anon1750875978]

Courage? You're on an anonymous message board with a handle that starts out with Anon. You really are a profile in courage.
View attachment 1373396

Everyone knows who I am.

Click the profile.

 

[Anon1750875978]

I just do not understand how you can objectively criticize Jan Jensen for underachieving and the truth is that not many posters here feel the need to criticize her. I think that most posters here would say that Jan Jensen has, by most objective accounts, exceeded expectations (ie overachieved).

“The success that JJ has had over her first two seasons is undeniable. It is even more remarkable that in her first season, she inherited a team that lost the equivalent of four 4-year starters which is an unprecedented loss of experience in just one season for any team.

CC, KM, GM and MD combined for 525 career starts (618 games played), 14,052 career minutes and 8206 career points! Furthermore, two (GM and MD) were in their fifth year and one (KM) was in her sixth year, adding extra maturity on top of experience. And finally two of them were drafted to the WNBA

Many fans did not believe that they would even make it into the NCAA Tournament, let alone the second round. Iowa was similarly misjudged prior to this past season.

I cannot understand how anyone could be critical of JJ for the way that the team very clearly and undeniably overachieved literally everyone’s expectations. My only explanation is that some people just want to focus on the negative for no good reason.”

*****2026-27 Transfer Portal News***** - Page 51 - Forums

Let the fun begin

www.on3.com

Good teams, conference runners up, don't lose by 50+ pts on a neutral court in the conference tourney and lose to a lower seed in the second round at home!

That's a fact! That's a coaching issue, pure and simple.

 

[Hawkangler]

This team should be much better than last year

Post - Ava should only get better and Layla looks quicker and more physical. With a four out, the lane should be more open

Point - Chit Chat (a 3rd team all- BIG) player I would expect to be better

2G - Carnegie is a huge step up from Kylie. Much better scorer and is a solid defender so I don't expect a huge drop defensively. Stremlow will rotate here also.

SF - Whiting and Stremlow are two solid pieces. Both can shoot the three and Whiting is better on defense, than offense. Faison (4 star in high school) will provide quality minutes at the 3 or 4.

PF - Hannah will be missed on the boards but when she was out Houston more than held her own. Then you add in Woliczko who has a nice perimeter game, can rebound and defend.

This team truly has nine solid options in the rotation.

 

[Kceasthawk@77]

This team should be much better than last year

Post - Ava should only get better and Layla looks quicker and more physical. With a four out, the lane should be more open

Point - Chit Chat (a 3rd team all- BIG) player I would expect to be better

2G - Carnegie is a huge step up from Kylie. Much better scorer and is a solid defender so I don't expect a huge drop defensively. Stremlow will rotate here also.

SF - Whiting and Stremlow are two solid pieces. Both can shoot the three and Whiting is better on defense, than offense. Faison (4 star in high school) will provide quality minutes at the 3 or 4.

PF - Hannah will be missed on the boards but when she was out Houston more than held her own. Then you add in Woliczko who has a nice perimeter game, can rebound and defend.

This team truly has nine solid options in the rotation.

On a piece by piece basis, certainly more firepower. They'll have to hit the ground running with some solid tests early on, but I'd think they'll continue to get better and more cohesive as the season moves on.

 

[Amahawk]

Good teams, conference runners up, don't lose by 50+ pts on a neutral court in the conference tourney and lose to a lower seed in the second round at home!

That's a fact! That's a coaching issue, pure and simple.

That is a concern!

 

[The Big Z]

The last two teams overachieved. It doesn't take courage to be an idiot, or even a contrarian troll, on a message board. But pat yourself on the back anyway, you have a hobby.

Last years team definitely over achieved in the regular season. Losing at home in the round of 32 was an under achievement.

 

[iThinkiWill]

Last years team definitely over achieved in the regular season. Losing at home in the round of 32 was an under achievement.

Small sample size of guesstimates reveal low expectations, with one notable exception…

Iowa Womens Regular Season Record Prediction? - Forums

Ok, we are 7 games into the regular season. Lets see how everyone does predicting their regular season final record. I'm going with 20-9. Hopefully I"ve counted the right number of games!

www.on3.com

 

[NORTHSTAR]

Don't feed the troll.

 

[HawkFan10]

The last two teams overachieved. It doesn't take courage to be an idiot, or even a contrarian troll, on a message board. But pat yourself on the back anyway, you have a hobby.

Not getting out of the 2nd round is far far far from overachieving....I guess we will see this year if Jan can get her team out of the 2nd round or not.

 

[Hawkeye_Miguel]

I see Jan's first 2 seasons as relatively successful based on the deficiencies in the roster. Her first season had Lucy leading the back court and Hannah playing as an undersized 5. Last year had a group of role players in the back court and Ava as the leader in the front. Neither team had a true 2nd or 3rd option to step up day-in and day-out, and the weaknesses on each team got exposed in the NCAA tournament both years. Oklahoma had a much bigger/stronger front court, and then they a very poor shooting day from the back court against Virginia.

The hope with this season is with Ava coming back and the addition of Dani, we'll see the team reach that next level, with consistent high-level scoring options at both levels. If they underperform this year, it'll be due to injuries exposing the lack of depth, a lack of team cohesion with all the newcomers, or you could put it more squarely on the coaching this time.

Regarding expectations, ESPN just released their 100 days predictions and had Iowa included in their list of 10 teams that could contend for a championship. So it's not just Iowa homers that have high expectations this coming year. Although I don't know how much stock to put into a write up that claims that the Iowa roster is "centered around McKenna Woliczko" and has no mention of Ava.

 

[Jonesy5960]

Not getting out of the 2nd round is far far far from overachieving....I guess we will see this year if Jan can get her team out of the 2nd round or not.

It was a tale of 2 seasons really. The team greatly overachieved until the last 3 games of the season. Nobody of note expected them to come in second place in the B1G and earn a 2 seed in the tournament. They were picked as a middle of the pack team at best, so from that perspective they did overachieve.

For whatever reason they just weren't the same confident and dominant team after that big win over Michigan in the BTT. They looked completely out of sorts against Fairleigh Dickinson as 30 point favorites and then again against Virginia as 15 point favorites. They should have sailed into the Sweet 16 but they didn't. Blame the coach for that flame out if you want, but she didn't miss all of the wide open shots that those same players hit all season long. Stremlow was a 37% 3pt shooter in conference play but went 1/10 in the Virginia game, missing shots that she made all year. Easily her worst game of the year. Hanna was never a good FT shooter, but she was 7/16 vs FDU and in that 2 OT game she shot 1/6 from the foul line. If Strem just goes 2-10 from 3 or Hanna just goes 2/6 from the line they don't even get to OT. No idea why they performed like they did, but with the exception of Ava, they all appeared broken. Maybe they were tight. Maybe they were tired. Maybe that UCLA game simply broke them. In any case, that was not nearly the same team that sailed through the regular season and the first 2 games of the BTT.

 

[UpstreamHawkeye]

Last season's team was considered underachieving only because they overachieved first. Before the season started some of us had doubts they would even make the NCAA tournament.

 

[o_AMAYS]

It was a tale of 2 seasons really. The team greatly overachieved until the last 3 games of the season. Nobody of note expected them to come in second place in the B1G and earn a 2 seed in the tournament. They were picked as a middle of the pack team at best, so from that perspective they did overachieve.

For whatever reason they just weren't the same confident and dominant team after that big win over Michigan in the BTT. They looked completely out of sorts against Fairleigh Dickinson as 30 point favorites and then again against Virginia as 15 point favorites. They should have sailed into the Sweet 16 but they didn't. Blame the coach for that flame out if you want, but she didn't miss all of the wide open shots that those same players hit all season long. Stremlow was a 37% 3pt shooter in conference play but went 1/10 in the Virginia game, missing shots that she made all year. Easily her worst game of the year. Hanna was never a good FT shooter, but she was 7/16 vs FDU and in that 2 OT game she shot 1/6 from the foul line. If Strem just goes 2-10 from 3 or Hanna just goes 2/6 from the line they don't even get to OT. No idea why they performed like they did, but with the exception of Ava, they all appeared broken. Maybe they were tight. Maybe they were tired. Maybe that UCLA game simply broke them. In any case, that was not nearly the same team that sailed through the regular season and the first 2 games of the BTT.

Good summary. The tale of two seasons — good conference season (runner up) and disappointing NCAA tournament — is entirely on brand with Iowa’s program history. Iowa has 11 conference runner-up finishes (Purdue is 2nd with 7), and the worst Sweet 16 percentage of the 20 WBB programs with the most NCAA appearances.

 

[The Big Z]

Last season's team was considered underachieving only because they overachieved first. Before the season started some of us had doubts they would even make the NCAA tournament.

That’s not even close to true.

 

[nu2u]

Merkle is an upgrade at the "5".

I have my doubts. TBD. Like Crooks, she will pull down boards. I think her point production sinks with the move to Minnesota.

 

[thatsmy2cents]

How many years of losing on the first weekend will it take for you to judge?

Iowa should have done a national search instead of worrying if Addie Deal was going to stay committed.
How'd that work out?

Maybe Harmon should have gotten the job?

Lisa Bluder was Iowa's coach for 24yrs. She took the Hawks to the NCAA's 18 times with the following record:

lost in the 1st round 7 times
lost in the 2 round 6 times
lost in the sweet 16 2 times and the 1st time to reach the sweet 16 was her 15th yr at Iowa
lost in the elite 8 1 time in her 19th yr at Iowa
2 times in the championship with one of the all time great women's collegiate players

But JJ should make the elite 8 every yr! Got it!

 

[The Big Z]

Lisa Bluder was Iowa's coach for 24yrs. She took the Hawks to the NCAA's 18 times with the following record:

lost in the 1st round 7 times
lost in the 2 round 6 times
lost in the sweet 16 2 times and the 1st time to reach the sweet 16 was her 15th yr at Iowa
lost in the elite 8 1 time in her 19th yr at Iowa
2 times in the championship with one of the all time great women's collegiate players

But JJ should make the elite 8 every yr! Got it!

Put him on ignore. Your life will be much better.

 

[Jonesy5960]

Lisa Bluder was Iowa's coach for 24yrs. She took the Hawks to the NCAA's 18 times with the following record:

lost in the 1st round 7 times
lost in the 2 round 6 times
lost in the sweet 16 2 times and the 1st time to reach the sweet 16 was her 15th yr at Iowa
lost in the elite 8 1 time in her 19th yr at Iowa
2 times in the championship with one of the all time great women's collegiate players

But JJ should make the elite 8 every yr! Got it!

Fire Bluder!!

Oh... Wait.....

 

[Randon]

This team has an abundance of talent that could make a big run in the NCAA Tournament. With probably the best post player in the country and with an exceptional point guard, this team has a great foundation, and with the added excellent players from the portal, everything is on a positive track for this team.

 

[fish1hawk]

This team has an abundance of talent that could make a big run in the NCAA Tournament. With probably the best post player in the country and with an exceptional point guard, this team has a great foundation, and with the added excellent players from the portal, everything is on a positive track for this team.

I agree, we have talent and more experience than last year. A solid top 7-8 with the bench. But the conference has a number of teams thinking the same thing.

 

[Jonesy5960]

I agree, we have talent and more experience than last year. A solid top 7-8 with the bench. But the conference has a number of teams thinking the same thing.

That's true, but even so, it wouldn't shock me if this team finishes with a starting lineup containing 3 first/second team All Big10 performers in Ava, CCW, and Dani. All 3 were All B1G/SEC players this past season. The only other teams that can say that with any confidence are Michigan and USC who I see at the top of the league along with Iowa.

 

[TheGreatDivider101]

That's true, but even so, it wouldn't shock me if this team finishes with a starting lineup containing 3 first/second team All Big10 performers in Ava, CCW, and Dani. All 3 were All B1G/SEC players this past season. The only other teams that can say that with any confidence are Michigan and USC who I see at the top of the league along with Iowa.

I would put Illinois in that group as well.

 

[huntinghawk]

I just do not understand how you can objectively criticize Jan Jensen for underachieving and the truth is that not many posters here feel the need to criticize her. I think that most posters here would say that Jan Jensen has, by most objective accounts, exceeded expectations (ie overachieved).

“The success that JJ has had over her first two seasons is undeniable. It is even more remarkable that in her first season, she inherited a team that lost the equivalent of four 4-year starters which is an unprecedented loss of experience in just one season for any team.

CC, KM, GM and MD combined for 525 career starts (618 games played), 14,052 career minutes and 8206 career points! Furthermore, two (GM and MD) were in their fifth year and one (KM) was in her sixth year, adding extra maturity on top of experience. And finally two of them were drafted to the WNBA

Many fans did not believe that they would even make it into the NCAA Tournament, let alone the second round. Iowa was similarly misjudged prior to this past season.

I cannot understand how anyone could be critical of JJ for the way that the team very clearly and undeniably overachieved literally everyone’s expectations. My only explanation is that some people just want to focus on the negative for no good reason.”

*****2026-27 Transfer Portal News***** - Page 51 - Forums

Let the fun begin

www.on3.com

Overachieved? NCAA tournament matters way too much to consider her over achieving the first two years. Great regular season, but Ncaas is what's remembered and what coaches are judged by.

 

[herkhatescy2]

I don't see any scenario where Iowa is voted lower than fourth in the preseason Big Ten rankings. Possibly even third behind USC and Michigan.

Don't see Michigan any better than us. We kicked their *** every game last year that we played them and they haven't gotten any better than we have from the portal.

 

[KyleHuesmann]

Don't see Michigan any better than us. We kicked their *** every game last year that we played them and they haven't gotten any better than we have from the portal.

Have to go to the Crisler Center.

 

[herkhatescy2]

nm

 

[HawksGoneWild1]

Looks like a couple of changes to the Big Dance this year.
1) Expansion to 76 teams
2) Top 16 teams seeded on true ranking (take it that means NET ranking of Quad wins)

NCAA women’s basketball tournament top 16 teams will be seeded by true ranking

Expansion to 76 teams isn't the only change for the NCAA women's basketball tournament. The top 16 teams will be seeded by true ranking.

www.usatoday.com

 

[HawksGoneWild1]

This seems to be the latest Top 25 preseason rankings I could find by any outlet (BustingBrackets on 5/2/26).

9 are B1G teams.

1. South Carolina Gamecocks
2. UConn Huskies
3. Duke Blue Devils
4. Michigan Wolverines
5. USC Trojans
6. Iowa Hawkeyes
7. Louisville Cardinals
8. Texas Longhorns
9. North Carolina Tar Heels
10. LSU Tigers
11. Vanderbilt Commodores
12. Washington Huskies
13. UCLA Bruins
14. TCU Horned Frogs
15. Ole Miss Rebels
16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
17. Kentucky Wildcats
18. Ohio State Buckeyes
19. Minnesota Golden Gophers
20. Illinois Fighting Illini
21. Maryland Terrapins
22. Oklahoma State Cowgirls
23. Arizona State Sun Devils
24. Oklahoma Sooners
25. West Virginia Mountaineers

Entirely too-early women’s NCAA basketball Top 25 rankings

An entirely too-early look at the women’s NCAA basketball Top 25 as of May 1, featuring key players, roster changes, and contenders chasing UCLA.

bustingbrackets.com

 

[HawksGoneWild1]

Top 15 NCAA Women's Basketball: Best back court duos heading into the 2026-2027 season, ranked

1. Hannah Hidalgo & Madison St. Rose (Notre Dame)
2. Mikayla Blakes & Aubrey Galvan (Vanderbilt)
3. Mikaylah Williams & MiLaysia Fulwiley (LSU)
4. Jazzy Davidson & JuJu Watkins (USC)
5. Tessa Johnson & Jordan Lee (South Carolina)
6. Chit-Chat Wright & Dani Carnegie (Iowa)
7. Elina Aarnisalo & Donovyn Hunter (UCLA)
8. Liv McGill & Stailee Heard (Oklahoma State)
9. Jaloni Cambridge & Kennedy Cambridge (Ohio State)
10. KK Arnold & Ashlynn Shade (UConn)
11. Syla Swords & Mila Holloway (Michigan)
12. Tajianna Roberts & Zamareya Jones (Louisville)
13. Aaliyah Chavez & Jordan Speiser (Oklahoma)
14. Tori McKinney & Grace Grocholski (Minnesota)
15. Sayvia Sellers & Avery Howell (Washington)

MSN

 

[KurtWarner]

This seems to be the latest Top 25 preseason rankings I could find by any outlet (BustingBrackets on 5/2/26).

9 are B1G teams.

1. South Carolina Gamecocks
2. UConn Huskies
3. Duke Blue Devils
4. Michigan Wolverines
5. USC Trojans
6. Iowa Hawkeyes
7. Louisville Cardinals
8. Texas Longhorns
9. North Carolina Tar Heels
10. LSU Tigers
11. Vanderbilt Commodores
12. Washington Huskies
13. UCLA Bruins
14. TCU Horned Frogs
15. Ole Miss Rebels
16. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
17. Kentucky Wildcats
18. Ohio State Buckeyes
19. Minnesota Golden Gophers
20. Illinois Fighting Illini
21. Maryland Terrapins
22. Oklahoma State Cowgirls
23. Arizona State Sun Devils
24. Oklahoma Sooners
25. West Virginia Mountaineers

Entirely too-early women’s NCAA basketball Top 25 rankings

An entirely too-early look at the women’s NCAA basketball Top 25 as of May 1, featuring key players, roster changes, and contenders chasing UCLA.

bustingbrackets.com

Dang, that's pretty impressive, I'll take that

 

[Scott559]

ESPN had a 100 days to the season article, In it they had a bit with 10 title contenders, Iowa was #6 in the list.

100 days to women's college basketball: Top stories, players, games

As we pass the 100-day mark to the 2026-27 women's basketball season, breaking down the top teams and players to watch.

www.espn.com

 

[HawksGoneWild1]

ESPN had a 100 days to the season article, In it they had a bit with 10 title contenders, Iowa was #6 in the list.

100 days to women's college basketball: Top stories, players, games

As we pass the 100-day mark to the 2026-27 women's basketball season, breaking down the top teams and players to watch.

www.espn.com

That top 10 list is exactly the very same order as the BustingBrackets article if you remove UNC at #9.

 

[NORTHSTAR]

waiting on 78 to give us the old couldn't get out of the first round......................................

 

[Anon1750875978]

waiting on 78 to give us the old couldn't get out of the first round......................................

Sweet 32 has been JJ's ceiling in two seasons.
That isn't an opinion, it's a fact.

Hoping she can get to the second weekend should be goal #1.
I have my doubts given Iowa lost their best rebounder.
I just don't understand why there wasn't any legitimate national coaching search?

 

[Kceasthawk@77]

ESPN had a 100 days to the season article, In it they had a bit with 10 title contenders, Iowa was #6 in the list.

100 days to women's college basketball: Top stories, players, games

As we pass the 100-day mark to the 2026-27 women's basketball season, breaking down the top teams and players to watch.

www.espn.com

Absolutely ridiculous to write that and no mention of Ava Heiden....

 

[chuck285]

Sweet 32 has been JJ's ceiling in two seasons.
That isn't an opinion, it's a fact.

Hoping she can get to the second weekend should be goal #1.
I have my doubts given Iowa lost their best rebounder.
I just don't understand why there wasn't any legitimate national coaching search?

Since you're a JJ hater how about we have a bet? Right now I'll take Iowa to make it through the round of 64 to get into the final 32?

 

[Jonesy5960]

Absolutely ridiculous to write that and no mention of Ava Heiden....

I thought exactly the same thing reading that. Any summary of Iowa that doesn't mention Ava lacks any credibility.