The Iowa Hawkeyes just completed their regular season with a series win over Northwestern. Iowa topped the Wildcats on Thursday and Saturday to finish the regular season with a 39-13 (15-8 Big Ten) record.
That was good for the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa opens conference tournament play against sixth-seeded Michigan on Tuesday, May 23 at 10 a.m. from Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Neb. The other half of the Hawkeyes’ portion of the bracket features No. 2 seed Indiana versus No. 7 seed Illinois.
If Iowa wins its opening game against the Wolverines, the Hawkeyes would face the winner of Indiana-Illinois on Thursday at 2 p.m. If the Hawkeyes were to lose, they would turn around and play the loser of Indiana-Illinois at 7 p.m. on Wednesday night.
On the other half of the bracket, Maryland earned the No. 1 seed and will face No. 8 seed Michigan State. Fourth-seeded Nebraska opens against No. 5 seed Rutgers.
Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, the Hawkeyes currently possess the nation’s No. 32 RPI. Looking at projections across the country, Iowa probably needs several wins in the Big Ten Tournament to feel completely comfortable in their at-large NCAA Tournament chances.
Or, better yet, just win the Big Ten Tournament and take all the guesswork out of the equation. Still, just to give you an idea of where the Hawkeyes’ perceived current standing is, let’s take a look at several recent NCAA Tournament projections.