Iowa Women's Basketball Bracketology: Mid-January Update
We are still 62 days from the unveiling of the 68-team NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament bracket, but it’s never too early to start looking at projections. Well, maybe November and December are too early. Anyway, we are in to mid-January and everyone is a couple of weeks into conference play. That means it’s time to start thinking about where the Hawkeyes stand in the NCAA Tournament conversation. Lisa Bluder’s squad is currently riding a 14-game winning streak and are off to a 17-1 start that has them ranked #2 in the AP Poll. HawkeyeReport takes a look at Iowa’s current resume, what the bracket projections are saying and what remains on the schedule.
How is the Hawkeyes resume shaping up through 18 games?
The Hawkeyes have built a really solid resume through the first 2+ months of the season. The early loss at Carver-Hawkeye Arena to Kansas State was disappointing at the time, but not only did Iowa win the rematch in the Gulf Coast Showcase Championship, the Wildcats are now 17-1 overall. Iowa is 5-1 against Q1 opponents, including wins over #7 K-State, #14 Virginia Tech, #16 Indiana, #24 Iowa State and Michigan State. Five quad one wins is tied for fifth most in the country. When you include Q2 opponents into the equation, the Hawkeyes lead the country with an 11-1 record. Against Q3/4 teams, Iowa is 6-0 with an average margin of victory of 38.8 points. Taking care of business when they are a heavy favorite.
What the brackets are saying…
ESPN: 1 Seed – In this projection by Charlie Creme, the Hawkeyes are the top seed in the Albany 2 region. The first round opponent would be 16 seed UNC-Greensboro, while the other matchup in Iowa city would be 8 seed Vanderbilt and 9 seed Green Bay. Other notable teams in the region include USC (2), LSU (3), Florida State (4), Utah (5), Marquette (6) and Drake (12).
Her Hoop Stats: 1 Seed – In the projection by Megan Gauer, the Hawkeyes are the top seed in the Albany 3 region. The first round game would be against 16 seed Norfolk State, while the other matchup in Iowa City would be 8 seed Washington and 9 seed Mississippi State. Other notable teams in the region include Colorado (2), Connecticut (3), Virginia Tech (4), Gonzaga (5) and West Virginia (6).
What remains on the schedule for the Hawkeyes…
With almost two months until the Big Ten Tournament, there will still be a good big of movement in the NET rankings. However, as it currently stands, the Hawkeyes schedule has quite a few opportunities to build an air tight one seed worthy resume. Seven of their final 12 games are Quad one, while just two games are Quad three. Iowa is in a really good position with the resume that they have built to this point, but there is a lot of work left to do before they can think about being a one seed on Selection Sunday.
Here is a look at the rest of the schedule and where each team sits in the NET rankings.
Quad 1: @Ohio St (16), @Maryland (27), vs Penn St (30), @Nebraska (35), @Indiana (13), @Minnesota (34), vs Ohio St (16)
Quad 2: vs Nebraska (35), vs Michigan (42), vs Illinois (57)
Quad 3: vs Wisconsin (120), @Northwestern (231)
Quad 4: None
Up Next, the Hawkeyes host the Wisconsin Badgers tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tipoff is set for 8:00pm CT and the game will stream on Peacock.
