Hawkeyes women learn NCAA seeding, opponent

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team learned its seeding and first opponent for the 2022 NCAA Tournament on Sunday.

The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team has enjoyed a week of rest since winning the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis last Sunday.

Now, star sophomore Caitlin Clark and the rest of the Hawkeyes (23-7) know their seeding and opponent for the 2022 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. The Hawkeyes are a No. 2 seed in the Greensboro Region and will oppose No. 15 seed Illinois State (19-13), the Missouri Valley Conference tournament champion, on Friday in Iowa City.

If the Hawkeyes win, they will face the winner of Friday’s game between seventh-seeded Colorado and No. 10 seed Creighton.

Clark, the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten tournament MVP, is a semifinalist for the Naismith Award, given annually to the nation’s top player. She leads the Hawkeyes in points (27.4), rebounds (8.1) and assists (7.9) per game this season.

It’s the fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance for the Hawkeyes women under head coach Lisa Bluder.

Last year, they beat Central Michigan and Kentucky before losing to Connecticut in the Sweet 16. In 2019, they beat Mercer, Missouri and North Carolina State before bowing out against the eventual champion, Baylor, in the Elite Eight round. In 2018, the Hawkeyes lost to Creighton in the first round.

(There was no NCAA Tournament in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.)

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