Nebraska WBB vs Iowa (Part Two) Preview

Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-10, 9-9 Big Ten) at Iowa Hawkeyes (14-8, 10-8 Big Ten)
March 6, 2021, 7 p.m. (CT)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena - Iowa City, Iowa
Live Video: B1G Network+
Live Radio: Husker Sports Network (6:45 p.m.) Matt Coatney (PBP), Jeff Griesch (Analyst) Lincoln (1400 AM KLIN), Omaha (CD 105.9 FM), Huskers.com, Huskers App

We’ve made it to the final regular season game for the Huskers. Nebraska sits at .500 in conference play and tied (with Michigan State) for seventh in the conference standings. This game comes after a week long layoff for the Huskers as their game last weekend vs the Spartans was called off at the last minute (literally).

A win for Iowa would lock in the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament for the Hawkeyes. A loss for Iowa and a win by Michigan State against Wisconsin would drop the Hawkeyes into a tie for eighth with the Huskers in the final Big Ten regular-season standings, but would still give them the No. 7 seed at the conference tournament.

Hopefully, junior forward Bella Cravens is healed after missing three-ish (I didn’t go back to count for sure) games with a lower leg injury. The Huskers have missed her presence inside, especially on the defensive side of the game.

Redshirt sophomore point guard Ashley Scoggin was named a semifinalist for the NCAA Division I Junior College Transfer of the Year award by World Exposure Report. Fans can vote for the award at worldexposurereport.com. We all know Husker fans are good at online polls!

Junior guard Sam Haiby and senior center Kate Cain are both making a push for postseason honors. Haiby s the only player in the Big Ten to rank among the top 12 in the conference in scoring (17.1 ppg, 11th), rebounding (6.9 rpg, 12th) and assists (4.5 apg, 8th). Cain is the #2 active NCAA Division I player in blocks, and was one of 15 players on the Naismith National Defensive Player-of-the-Year Watch List.

Scouting the Hawkeyes

Iowa is 4-2 over its last six games, starting with its 88-81 win at Nebraska (Feb. 11). Iowa’s only losses in the last six games have come to the Big Ten’s top two teams - Maryland and Indiana. Caitlin Clark leads the Big Ten in scoring (27.1 ppg), assists (7.0 apg) and three-pointers made (87).

Monika Czinano, a 6-3 forward/center ranks second among the Hawkeyes and fifth in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.5 points per game, while adding 5.8 rebounds. Czinano leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage (.668). Czinano had 17 points in the first meeting at Nebraska.

Iowa features a third double-digit scorer in sophomore McKenna Warnock. The 6-1 guard/forward is averaging 12.3 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game. Warnock is a knock-down shooter who has hit 45.8 percent (38-83) of her threes, including 4-of-8 to finish with 19 points in the first meeting with the Huskers.

Sophomore Gabbie Marshall gives Iowa another knock-down shooter, hitting 36-of-79 threes (.456). The 5-9 Marshall is the only Hawkeye starter listed under 6-feet tall.

Iowa owns the No. 2 offense in the Big Ten (87.6 ppg), but the Hawkeye defense ranks 14th in the league, allowing 81.3 points per game. Iowa leads the Big Ten in field goal (.518) and three-point field goal percentage (.416) while ranking second in free throw percentage (.786). Iowa ranks 13th in the Big Ten in opponent field goal percentage (.447). Iowa owns a plus-0.7 team rebound margin and a minus-1.5 team turnover margin.

Over the past eight games (4-4), Iowa is averaging 86.1 points while allowing 84.1 points per game. The Hawkeyes are 3-8 against teams that have been ranked at any point in the AP Top 25 this season.

Nebraska Cornhuskers (11-10, 9-9 BIG TEN)

No. Player Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG RPG
34 Isabelle Bourne 6-2 So. F 13.9 8.2
31 Kate Cain 6-5 Gr./Sr.C 10.2 6.3
0 Ashley Scoggin 5-7 RSo. G 7.8 2.3
4 Sam Haiby 5-9 Jr. G 17.1 6.9
11 Ruby Porter 5-10 Fr. G 4.7 2.2

Off the Bench
2 Trinity Brady 5-11 So. G 8.5 5.0
14 Bella Cravens 6-3 Jr. F 6.5 7.6
21 Annika Stewart 6-3 Fr. F 6.4 3.0
10 Whitney Brown 5-8 Fr. G 3.4 1.2
5 MiCole Cayton 5-9 Gr./RJr. G 2.2 0.8
32 Kendall Coley 6-2 Fr. F/G 1.6 0.7

Head Coach: Amy Williams (Nebraska, 1998) Fifth Season at Nebraska (70-72) 14th Season Overall (263-181)

Iowa Hawkeyes (14-8, 10-8 BIG TEN)

No. Player Ht. Yr. Pos. PPG RPG
14 McKenna Warnock 6-1 So. G/F 12.3 8.0
25 Monika Czinano 6-3 Jr. F/C 18.8 5.8
20 Kate Martin 6-0 RSo.G 7.3 3.8
22 Caitlin Clark 6-0 Fr. G 27.1 6.0
24 Gabbie Marshall 5-9 So. G 8.4 2.0

Off the Bench
1 Tomi Taiwo 5-10 Jr. G 4.6 1.7
40 Sharon Goodman 6-3 Fr. C 4.0 2.3
11 Megan Meyer 5-8 So. G 2.9 0.9
23 Logan Cook 6-1 Jr. F 2.3 2.1
5 Alexis Sevillian 5-5 Sr. G 1.5 0.9
15 Lauren Jensen 5-10 Fr. G 1.4 0.4
21 Zion Sanders 5-8 Sr. G 0.4 0.4

Head Coach: Lisa Bluder (Northern Iowa, 1983) 21st Season at Iowa (433-231) 37th Season Overall (789-374)