Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes begin their postseason journey today as they play their first game in the Big Ten Tournament. This team has been all the buzz around college basketball thanks to Clark and her recording break year and career.
The Hawkeyes posted another impressive season finishing 26-4 and 15-3 in the Big Ten. Last season, the Hawkeyes made it all the way to the National Championship, but fell to Angel Reese and the LSU Tigers.
This year, the Hawkeyes are hoping for a different outcome, but it all starts here at the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes were awarded a double-bye in the first two rounds of the Tournament, but the team they're set to play was also awarded a first-round bye. Caitlin Clark and company will take on Penn State for the second time this season. The Hawkeyes won the first matchup 111-93 back in early February.
B1G GAME DAY 😤#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/XxwFIEu1gd
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 8, 2024
The Hawkeyes are set to take on Penn State at 5:30 p.m. CT in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
So we know the Hawkeyes will take on Penn State, but who are their possible matchups going forward?
They beat Penn State
If the Hawkeyes beat Penn State, they will move on to the Semifinals and face the winner of the Michigan-Indiana game. The Wolverines are the No. 6 seed and the Hoosiers are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. This game would be played on Saturday, March 9 after the conclusion of the first game that day at 1:00 p.m. CT.
Iowa beat Michigan in their first matchup this season 106-89, the game where Clark became the all-time leading scorer in women's college basketball. Clark also went on to drop 49 points, a career-high and matched the Iowa basketball record for most points in a game.
If the Hawkeyes take on Indiana, it could be a tougher battle. The Hawkeyes and Hoosiers matched up twice this season, each team taking getting a win. The Hawkeyes won the first battle in beat-down fashion 84-57 at home. In the second matchup, Indiana had revenge on their minds and got just that, upsetting the Hawkeyes 86-69, holding Clark to just 24 points, eight points below her season average.
Iowa moves on to the Championship
If the Hawkeyes win, they will only have to play in one more game, leaving them hopefully fairly fresh for the NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes would play on Sunday, March 10 at 11:00 a.m. CT on CBS.
Iowa in the NCAA Tournament
Iowa women's basketball has its spot in the NCAA Women's Tournament and it will not be an easy road back to the championship. Caitlin Clark and the Hawkeyes were awarded the one seed in the Albany 2 Region which also has heavy hitters like UCLA, LSU, the defending champions who beat Iowa last year, and Kansas State, who the Hawkeyes have played twice and only beat once.
As the one seed, Iowa is waiting for their opponent as they will play as a First Four team. However, they do have a date and time for their first game. Clark will begin her run for a championship on Saturday, March 23 at 3:00 p.m. ET at home. The game will be on ABC and all ESPN streaming services.
The Hawkeyes will play the winner of Holy Cross and UT Martin, who play on Thursday, March 21 at 9:00 p.m. ET.
Iowa in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
After a slow start in the first quarter, the Hawkeyes pulled it together and held Holy Cross to just nine points in the second quarter to start to build their lead on the Crusaders. Clark and crew never looked like the team that played in the first quarter for the rest of the game, got the 91-65 win over Holy Cross, and booked their ticket to the second round.
The Hawkeyes will now face a tough matchup against the West Virginia Mountaineers, a team that got towards the end of the season. The Mountaineers are a physical team on defense and how speed on offense, and will look to take Clark out of the game early.
Even though Clark nearly had a triple-double in the game against Holy Cross, it was a slow start and she only scored 27 points, five points fewer than her season average. The Hawkeyes will need Clark at her best because scoring in the paint will be difficult against the size and strength in the paint for West Virginia.
This will be Clark's final game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena as she declared for the WNBA Draft just a few weeks ago. Don't be surprised if she wants to go out with a bang and still try and take a few more records with her.
Clark and the Hawkeyes are set to play in the second round and look to book their ticket to the Sweet Sixteen. Tipoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 25 in the Hawkeyes' true final home game of the season.
Oh How Sweet: Iowa punches ticket to Sweet 16
The Iowa Hawkeyes advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second straight season and it was not easy. thanks to a 32-point performance from Caitlin Clark, the Hawkeyes were able to sneak past a tough West Virginia team who gave it all they had.
The Hawkeyes struggled offensively putting up just 64 points with Clark scoring half of those. A rare off night for Gabby Marshall who did not score a single point was not good for the Hawkeyes as well as not getting any help from the bench.
However, the Hawkeyes made it through and earned a few well-deserved days off before heading to Albany for thier matchup against Colorado in the Sweet 16. This will be another tough test for Iowa as the Buffaloes play a tight and physical defense, especially around the three-point line, which is not good after the Hawkeyes went 5-22 from beyond the arc against West Virginia, all made by Clark.
The Hawkeyes will lace them up Saturday, March 30 at 33:30 p.m. ET in Albany New York and if they win will play the winner of LSU-UCLA, setting up a potential National Championship rematch from last year if LSU wins in the Elite Eight.