The 15-12 Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s basketball team welcomes the fourth-ranked Iowa Hawkeyes to Williams Arena on Wednesday for a crucial Big 10 matchup.
The Golden Gophers are led by Dawn Plitzuweitd who is in her first season coaching the team as she took over for program legend Lindsey Whalen. In her first season, they are just 5-11 in conference play with a record of 13-5 in the famous Williams Arena.
The Hawkeyes come in as the fourth-ranked team in the nation led by the NCAA’s top point scorer in women’s basketball history Caitlin Clark. The Hawkeyes are 24-4 on the season with a 13-3 record and a real chance at winning the national championship.
The Minnesota Golden Gophers will host the Iowa Hawkeyes on Wednesday, February 27th at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT.
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The big draw here is a chance to see the most popular women’s college basketball player in sometime in Clark. She is incredible in so many ways, plus it’s a massive rivalry game between the Gophers and Hawkeyes.
At the time of publication, the cheapest available tickets for the Minnesota Golden Gophers vs the Iowa Hawkeyes are $86.
If you’re looking for a more luxurious experience, the most expensive ticket would only cost you $728.
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Not long after Matt Campbell settled in as Iowa State’s football coach, the victories began to accumulate.
Campbell’s 2016 ISU team, his first one, won three games.
His next four teams won a total of 32, including the Cyclones’ 9-3 finish in 2020.
Prior to Campbell’s arrival at Iowa State, winning in Ames was difficult.
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It was hard not to notice.
Campbell, who became Penn State’s coach after a 10-year run at Iowa State, said recently he almost left Ames twice before finally saying yes to Pat Kraft and the Nittany Lions.
Almost.
“I would say there were probably two really close opportunities that I probably kind of accepted,” Campbell said last Monday.
“And then I said, ‘You know what, I can’t do it’. I slept on it, and I walked away from it, during our 10 years (at Iowa State).”
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“In fairness to those organizations, I’m not going to talk about it.”
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New Penn State coach Matt Campbell is introduced
Campbell wasn’t sure then.
But he said it was different when Penn State approached him about becoming the permanent replacement for James Franklin.
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Two major reasons why are Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi and Kraft, the Lions’ athletic director.
“From Neeli’s standpoint, she’s a wow, and the wow factor of character, integrity, what she was looking for,” Campbell said.
“After getting off that phone call, I was like, this is the type of people you want to associate with.”
“I would say from Pat’s standpoint, (he is) this uber-competitive, want to be a partner, want to be an asset to you in this changing world of college football,” Campbell continued.
“Like, you can’t do it by yourself anymore. You have to be aligned. … Those two things, they were unwavering for me, and they were things that said, you know what, this is really special.”
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A huge factor for Campbell was his family – wife Erica, daughters Katie and Izzy and sons Rudy and Rocco.
“Now, the regionality of bringing my family back home,” said Campbell, who is from Massillon, Ohio.
“I mean, being 12 hours away and for my kids to never see their grandparents and never see their cousins, and to have my father and my mother and Erica’s family be able to come and be a part of this experience with us again.
“I can’t lie and tell you that didn’t have a big impact. I think it certainly did, as well.”
Campbell also knew he reached his ceiling at Iowa State, going 72-55 in 10 seasons. The highlight of his run was the Cyclones’ 11-3 finish in 2024.
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“Knowing what we’ve done (at ISU), I mean, the last three years at Iowa State have been the greatest three-year run in the history of the school,” Campbell said.
“I don’t know what else we could have done there, and I’m really proud of what we did there.”
See Iowa DOT snowplow camera capture moment SUV rear ends plow
An Iowa DOT snowplow was hit while clearing snow along Iowa Highway 60 in Sioux County on Nov. 29, 2025. The crash was caught on the plow’s cameras.
A winter storm warning remains in effect until 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 13, for a large swath of the state, from northwest Iowa to much of central Iowa and southeast Iowa.
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Drivers should expect slippery conditions.
Snow fell through the morning with accumulations of 2 to 3 inches across most of Iowa, according to the National Weather Service. The light, fluffy snow will taper off in the afternoon.
The weather service advises that snow-covered roads will make travel slick and more difficult and to use caution.
More: Cold weather advisory warns of frigid wind chills. These shelters are open
The counties affected include Pocahontas, Sac, Calhoun, Webster, Hamilton, Crawford, Carroll, Greene, Boone, Story, Marshall, Guthrie, Dallas, Polk, Jasper, Poweshiek, Warren, Marion, Mahaska, Monroe, Wapello and Davis.
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Where did snow fall the most in Iowa?
Southern Iowa felt the brunt of the snow Saturday morning, with some areas experiencing nearly five inches of accumulation. Here are the highest totals so far in Iowa:
More: What happened to Ryan Cooper? Iowa man’s murder featured on ‘Dateline’
Milton: 4.5 inches
Parnell: 4.5 inches
Norwalk: 3.8 inches
Badger: 3.5 inches
Bloomfield: 3.3 inches
Carroll: 3.2 inches
Buffalo: 3.2 inches
North English: 3 inches
Winterset: 2.6 inches
How much snow has fallen in Des Moines?
The Des Moines International Airport reported 1.2 inches of snow as of 6 a.m. Saturday. Norwalk, just south of Des Moines, reported 3.8 inches of snow by 10:30 a.m. Clive reported 2.7 inches of snow at 10 a.m.
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How much snow did Iowa City get?
North Liberty, just north of Iowa City, reported three inches of snow as of 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Tiffin, which is to the northwest of Iowa City, reported 2.7 inches of snow at 10 a.m.
Roads across the state are covered in snow
The Iowa DOT reported that, as of 11 a.m., many of central Iowa’s highways and interstates were completely covered with snow. The organization said travel on I-80 from central Iowa to the Illinois border is not advised.
“Visibility and road conditions are deteriorating rapidly, causing multiple crashes and closing lanes,” the DOT said in a social media post around 11 a.m.
More snow followed by frigid temps
A cold weather advisory is in effect for much of northern, central and southeastern Iowa into Sunday morning. In the Des Moines area, wind chill values could drop to as low as -15. Wind chills across the state are expected between -20 and -30 starting at 6 p.m. Saturday.
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(This article has been updated to include new information.)
