Unfortunately for the Hawkeyes, star guard Lucy Olsen isn't walking through the doors of Hilton Coliseum on Wednesday night.
Powered by Olsen's 25 points, the No. 18 Hawkeyes upset No. 18 Iowa State 75-69 in a close game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The Cyclones dominated the Hawkeyes in almost every statistical category, but Iowa forced 21 turnovers and won the game at home.
In another ranked matchup this season, Iowa must get the job done on the road against a tough Iowa State squad that includes the nation's leading scorer, Audi Crooks.
Here are three keys to victory for the Hawkeyes to upset the Cyclones:
Slow down Audi Crooks
All teams have tried, but none have succeeded in slowing down Crooks. She leads her team and the nation in scoring, averaging 27.6 points per game.
Crooks has easily been the focal point of her team through their first ten games of the season, and the Hawkeyes must use their size in the paint to slow her down.
Ava Heiden (six-foot-four), Layla Hays (six-foot-five), and Hannah Stuelke (six-foot-two) have the size to match up with Crooks, but they must force her out of the painted area to be effective.
Crooks is elite down low, doing a majority of her damage within five feet of the basket, so if she gets the Iowa post players on her back, it's all over.
Push her out of the paint or foul if she gets too close.
Force the Cyclones into long-range shots
Iowa State is undefeated to start the season, and they are very similar to Iowa in the way they want to run the offense.
They want paint touches or shots close to the basket where they have excelled shooting.
Iowa State is shooting 53.2 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from beyond the three-point arc this season, leading to an average of nearly a 40-point margin of victory.
The Cyclone offense has been solid across the board and the Hawkeyes will have to pick a "lesser of two evils" scenario by forcing them into contested jumpers outside of the paint.
Iowa HAS to win the rebounding battle
Both the Hawkeyes (50.9) and the Cyclones (45.7) have been proficient on the glass this season, and for the Hawkeyes to win, they have to win the rebounding battle.
Iowa has been slightly better in the rebounding department to start the season, but the Cyclones present a unique challenge with Crooks at the center.
The Cyclones also like to use their physicality in the paint, but if Iowa can force them to take bad shots and limit them to one attempt per possession, they can take away one of their biggest strengths.
Prediction
This will be a highly competitive, low-scoring affair on a cold night in Ames, but Iowa will come away with the win.
Crooks will be tough to handle, and she will get her points, but the Hawkeyes will limit the other players around her.
In a battle of dominating post players, Heiden will notch another double-double, but the x-factor will be Chit-Chat Wright, who will get the Hawkeyes running in transition and will also score in double figures.
Final score: Iowa 60, Iowa State 56