IU women vs. Iowa is a matchup not just atop the Big Ten, but national rankings, too.

Thursday will see a clash of contrasts at Assembly Hall. A showdown among teams who have found success this season and have little else in common. In one corner is No. 2 Indiana, a team built on methodically picking apart opponents with its halfcourt offense and defense. It has one of the most surefire safety valves in the country in Mackenzie Holmes on the low block and run by Grace Berger, the low-pulse point guard who keeps the train from getting too far off the tracks.

In the other corner is No. 6 Iowa and its high-flying offense that averages close to 90 points per game. Caitlin Clark, always a threat to single-handedly swing a game, averages 27.6 while hoisting up twice as many 3-pointers as any of her teammates.

The game will determine, at least short-term, sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. Beyond that, there isn’t a lot left for IU to prove in the regular season. The Hoosiers are 22-1. They’ve beaten a ranked opponent by more than a possession six times. Indiana is one one of the best teams in the nation, and nothing that happens Thursday will change that.

In the absence of statements to make and external tests to pass, the challenge becomes for IU to continue to play at the level it has over the past six weeks, a little over a month until the NCAA tournament.

In the four conference games Berger was sidelined with a knee injury, Indiana averaged 71 points per game. The Hoosiers have averaged more than 80 per game since she returned, a stretch that includes three 90-point performances in the past month.

Sara Scalia has seen more shots go down after a cold start to conference play. Chloe Moore-McNeil has been a consistent defensive presence and someone capable of running the offense when Berger is on the bench. She hit three 3-pointers Sunday as Purdue sagged off of her in an attempt to stop Holmes.

At the beginning of the year, the Hoosiers had undeniably talented players who were in the process of trying to mesh with each other. That process is over as Indiana has reeled off 10 straight conference wins.

'This is my purpose':Israeli freshman Yarden Garzon's quiet fire lighting it up for IU.

“With the exception of maybe the Minnesota game, we’ve played pretty well offensively and certainly on the defensive side of the ball as well,” coach Teri Moren said. “Nothing that I’m putting my finger on. I think it’s just collectively — this is a balanced basketball team. We can score in a lot of different ways.”

IU is also coming off of one of its best defensive performances of the year against Purdue, allowing 46 points and nearly shutting out the Boilermakers in the third quarter. The defensive intensity the Hoosiers played with against Purdue, the offensive execution and improved shooting it’s displayed over the past month, is all well within its capacity against Iowa.

Holmes will likely have more than her usual allotment of opportunities against a Hawkeyes team that doesn’t often double-team in the post, opting to let Monika Czinano defend one-on-one under the basket.

It all means Indiana won’t have to do anything different from its usual attack. Iowa won’t either; Clark and Czinano average more than half of the Hawkeyes’ points. Moren doesn’t expect any surprises, and that could make the game decided in more minute areas: who gets to more loose balls, who displays more of the all-important but often intangible toughness.

Indiana is who it is. So is Iowa. Thursday won’t make or break anyone’s season, and it isn’t likely to provide any major revelations regarding the capabilities of either team. It’s just another chance for the Hoosiers to bring their best against the kind of opponent it will see more of in March.

“I do think there’s us understanding that we’re gonna get everybody’s best down the stretch,” Moren said. “We’ve continued to get that, and Iowa’s not gonna be any different. But I do think being able to make some of the hustle plays, and us being able to adjust. They’re gonna do some things different defensively on us as well. Just making the right decision. The next right decision for us is gonna be important.”

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IU women's basketball: Hoosiers to take on Iowa in Top 10 matchup