The Iowa Hawkeyes have their NCAA Tournament fates set. Iowa is one of just 26 schools that can boast a team in both the men’s and women’s tournament brackets.
The Iowa men’s basketball team earned a No. 8 seed and heads to Birmingham, Ala., to take on No. 9 seed Auburn. The Hawkeyes (19-13, 11-9 Big Ten) could face top-seeded Houston in the second round if they manage to dispatch of the Tigers in the Round of 64.
“It’s such a tremendous accomplishment. It’s so hard to get there, especially in our league. It’s so incredibly balanced and there’s, as you know, so many really good teams across the country in a number of Power Five conferences, a number of great teams in other leagues. So, just to see your name come up is something that I think everybody that plays college basketball hopes that that happens at some point. If it happens more than once, it’s even better. So, it’s time to go to work,” McCaffery said.
Iowa fans had mixed reactions to the destination for the Hawkeyes. There were plenty that felt that the Hawkeyes got a raw deal having to play Auburn in Birmingham. Others simply like Houston as the No. 1 seed that Iowa would likely draw if they are fortunate enough to take care of business against the Tigers beforehand.
Meanwhile, Iowa (26-6, 15-3 Big Ten) earned a No. 2 seed in the women’s NCAA Tournament where they will square off against 15th-seeded Southeastern Louisiana. Take care of business there and it’s either No. 7 seed Florida State or No. 10 seed Georgia.
“I’m so excited. Our fans are the best in the country. I know tickets are going to be super hard to get their hands on. I think we’re already over 10,000 and they aren’t even on sale yet just because of season-ticket holders. It’s going to be a hard ticket to come by, which is really special and unique for women’s basketball,” Iowa star Caitlin Clark said of hosting the first two games in Iowa City.
There were similar mixed reactions from fans on Iowa getting passed up for the final No. 1 seed in favor of Stanford. It certainly doesn’t hurt in the motivation department, though Iowa wasn’t trying to play that card.
“It appears we were the first No. 2. What’s the difference between being the fourth No. 1 and the first No. 2? There’s absolutely no difference, so I don’t really care at all about that. I’m just excited we get to play in Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Friday,” Iowa head women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder said.
Seeing both squads make it into their respective NCAA Tournaments meant it was a great day to be a Hawkeye. Here’s a look at the two teams celebrating their tourney invites and speaking with the media after their postseason destinations were revealed.