For the first time in four seasons, Iowa women's basketball won't be using the Big Ten's automatic bid to claim a spot in the NCAA Tournament, after falling to Ohio State, 60-59, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. However, Iowa is still NCAA Tournament-bound after a strong finish to the season. On Sunday night, the NCAA released the field of 68 teams set to compete in the tournament, as well as the full bracket, which is available here.
Iowa received a 6-seed and will play 11-seed Murray State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma. The game is set to tip off at 11 AM CT, with TV coverage on ESPN.
If Iowa beats Murray State, the Hawkeyes will face the winner of the game between 14-seed Florida Gulf Coast and 3-seed Oklahoma, the host of this regional pod. Oklahoma is coached by former Iowa star player (and Drake head coach) Jennie Baranczyk.
Murray State went 25-7 this year and won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The Racers went 16-4 in the regular season and shared the regular season title with Missouri State, before going 3-0 in the conference tournament to claim the Missouri Valley's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament. The Racers were the highest-scoring team in the country this year, averaging 87.9 ppg. Forward Katelyn Young led Murray State in scoring with 21.8 ppg and also grabbed 6.4 rpg. She had plenty of help, though -- three other Racers averaged at least 14.0 ppg this season.
For the first time since 2021, Iowa won't be hosting the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. If the Hawkeyes beat Murray State and Oklahoma/Florida Gulf Coast, they would likely face 2-seed UConn in the Sweet 16. The Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games will be held in Spokane, Washington.
Earning a 6-seed in the NCAA Tournament didn't seem to be a likely outcome for Iowa two months ago, when the Hawkeyes were mired in a five-game losing streak. Iowa responded to that losing skid by winning six games in a row, including a 76-69 win over #4 USC. That six-game winning streak was part of a 10-3 run the Hawkeyes went on to end the season. Iowa's only losses in that stretch came against 1-seed UCLA (by two points) and two against 4-seed Ohio State.
We'll have much more coverage on Iowa in the 2025 NCAA Tournament all week here at Hawkeye Beacon.
