NORMAN -- Iowa's 2025 NCAA Tournament begins on Saturday, March 22, with an opening round game against 11-seed Murray State at 11:00 AM CT on ESPN. While the Racers are a mid-major opponent, they had plenty of success this year, going 25-7 overall and sharing the Missouri Valley Conference regular season title and winning the MVC Tournament crown. Though Iowa enters the game as a 9.5-point favorite, the Racers are not an opponent to overlook, especially with such a potent offense.
Ahead of Saturday's game, Iowa head coach Jan Jensen discussed the importance of tempo for the matchup. "I think both of us like to go fast. We're probably going to try to minimize each other," Jensen said. "They go a little faster than us. And back in the day, two or three years ago, maybe, we went as fast."
"There's other teams we've faced that go fast," Jensen added. "Maybe they haven't averaged 87.8 [points per game]. You've got to keep them in front [of you on defense]. If they get in the paint, it's not always about them getting layups -- they're [also] really good at kicking to those great shooters. #3 [Briley Pena] is hitting 56% of her 3s over the last five games."
Ultimately, the flow of the game and the success of the respective offenses will likely dictate how fast both teams try to play. "I think whoever is not hitting [will slow it down]," Jensen noted. "It's almost like a chess match, you're kind of going to pull back the reins. If you keep forcing [shots] if you're cold, then that margin gets too great."
"[Murray State head coach Rechelle Turner] is not gonna come in and walk it up the court," Jensen said. "We're likely not going to do that, either. I think whoever maybe isn't quite as hot, that's the team you'll see back it out and try to go into a set."
Jensen emphasized how important defense will be in the matchup, as well as shot selection on offense. "But I think defense will be key. I think shot selection will be key. If you're not hitting, I think that's true for both teams," she explained. "Shot selection is not a big thing if you're scoring. If you're hot and you've got one pass, two pass and you're shooting it and hitting it or you're not reversing the ball but if you're making shots, it's all good."
"But if you're not hitting shots and you can't get the discipline for shot selections, then I think that's where the story will lie. And I think defense will dictate that," Jensen said.
Jensen noted that the challenge to defending a potent offense like Murray State was to make adjustments without completely transforming what Iowa has done on defense all season -- which has been pretty successful, on the whole.
"[Katelyn] Young, [Haven] Ford, [Halli] Poock, you've got to know where they are [on the floor]," Jensen explained. "There's a fine line between really changing [the defensive approach] and trying to minimize [what the opposing offense does well]. I think we have some things we're trying to minimize [from Murray State], but [we're] trying not to do wholesale changes of what we've done the whole season."
Forcing turnovers figures to be a key part of Iowa's defensive gameplan. The Hawkeyes are 16-3 when generating at least 15 turnovers, but just 6-7 when forcing 14 or fewer giveaways. Murray State has averaged 13.1 turnovers per game this year, though they exceeded that number in four of their seven losses this season. In losses to LSU and Alabama, the Racers and 19 and 16 turnovers, respectively. They also had 26 turnovers (!) in a loss to Southern Indiana early in the season and 17 in a loss to Missouri State.
Katelyn Young, Missori State's 6'1" senior team leader and a first-team All-Missouri Valley player, received a lot of praise from Jensen. Her skill set -- particularly her shooting ability -- makes her a very challenging player to slow down.
"Katelyn Young is, just, she's really good, obviously her 3,000 [career] points," Jensen said. "But what I really appreciate, I think, in pure shooters, a lot of shooters, they like to be in rhythm. You're coming off a screen, you catch, you pivot, you score. You know your play. You're coming from a cross screen; it's a fake and a go."
"She's one of the few players, especially at the elbow -- they run a lot of great stuff. So everybody's talking about their transition. They run a lot of great sets. A lot of them. She'll catch it at the elbow and she's a heck of a passer. She'll look, she'll look and doesn't like it. And when her defense's hands are down after two seconds, she's able to pull it and it's nothing but net. And that is a very underrated skill that I don't think people talk about with great shooters enough."
Young is averaging a team-high 22.2 points per game this season, which is also 6th-best in the NCAA this season. Considering her shot volume (almost 16 attempts per game), she's also a very efficient shooter, making 55.6% of her attempts from the field. She's been especially effective inside the 3-point arc (61%), but she's a dangerous shooter on the perimeter as well, making 37.4% of her attempts from long range. Young is shooting 82.3% from the free throw line as well.
Jensen's admiration for Young's ability as a post was clear. "She's a heck of a post player. I think I would have loved coaching her. Highest respect," Jensen said. High praise from a coach who knows more than a little bit about coaching outstanding college post players.
