ESPN projects Iowa women’s basketball as No. 1 seed in latest Bracketology
Superstar senior guard Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes have gotten on a roll since dropping their lone contest of the season versus Kansas State, 65-58, on Nov. 16.
Iowa (10-1, 1-0 Big Ten) has won seven straight, including avenging that loss to the Wildcats with a 77-70 win over K-State in the Gulf Coast Showcase championship game on Nov. 26. The No. 3 Hawkeyes also picked up wins over Drake, Purdue-Fort Wayne, Florida Gulf Coast, Bowling Green, Iowa State and Wisconsin.
Clark nabbed her 21st career Big Ten Player of the Week honor and third this season after the wins over the Cyclones and Badgers. The West Des Moines product crossed the 3,000 career points plateau and averaged 31.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in the wins over Iowa State and Wisconsin.
As nonconference play nears its end, let’s check in on where ESPN currently projects Iowa in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Where are the Hawkeyes seeded? Who might they play? What does a return trek to the Final Four look like?
Let’s take a peek below at everything Bracketology from ESPN’s Charlie Creme.
Iowa's Current Projected Seeding
Iowa’s current seed: No. 1 seed in the Portland 3 Region
What it means: Thus far in the season, Iowa is doing what everyone expects the Hawkeyes to do. After a gallop through the bracket to the national championship game last spring, the expectation is for Clark and the Hawkeyes to enter this tournament as a No. 1 seed. Right now, Iowa is tracking to do just that.
Given Clark’s stardom and Iowa’s success last season, it would be easy to lose sight of some of the potential historical significance of this. Iowa has earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament on just two prior occasions. The last instance was in 1992 as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region. The Hawkeyes were also a No. 1 seed in 1988 in the West Region.
Including last season, Iowa has been a No. 2 seed five times, a No. 3 seed five times and a No. 4 seed twice.
Who are the other No. 1 seeds?
Top Overall Seed: South Carolina in the Albany 1 Region
Other No. 1 seeds: UCLA in the Portland 2 Region and North Carolina State in the Albany 4 Region
Who else is in Iowa's Portland 3 Region
Rest of the Portland 3 Region:
No. 2 Stanford
No. 3 LSU
No. 4 Baylor
No. 5 Louisville
No. 6 Washington
No. 7 North Carolina
No. 8 Oregon State
No. 9 Ole Miss
No. 10 Texas Tech
No. 11 Michigan / No. 11 Duke
No. 12 Ball State
No. 13 Norfolk State
No. 14 North Texas
No. 15 Albany
No. 16 Western Illinois
Analysis of Portland 3 Region
It’s surprising to see LSU all the way back as a No. 3 seed right now. The Tigers are 11-1 and their only blemish is against a 9-1 Colorado team that’s ranked No. 8 nationally and is a No. 3 seed in Creme’s Bracketology.
LSU likely finishes the season on the No. 1 or No. 2 seeds line, but let’s play the hypothetical. It sets up a potentially massive Sweet 16 tilt between the Tigers and Stanford Cardinal in this bracket.
Meanwhile, Iowa would have to navigate through Western Illinois, either No. 8 Oregon State or No. 9 Ole Miss and then likely Baylor or Louisville before an Elite Eight showdown against either Stanford or LSU.
Given that it was the national championship game last season, Iowa-LSU feels like a contest that should be bracketed in the Final Four at the earliest. If it came to fruition in the Elite Eight, the Iowa-LSU rematch would gather bonker TV ratings once again.
Conference Bids Breakdown
ACC: 10
Pac-12: 8
SEC: 7
Big 12: 7
Big Ten: 6
Big East: 3
Mid-American: 2
Joining Iowa out of the Big Ten in The Dance are No. 3 seed Indiana, No. 3 seed Ohio State, No. 9 seed Nebraska, No. 7 seed Maryland and No. 11 seed Michigan.
On The Bubble
Last Four Byes: West Virginia, Mississippi State, Texas Tech, Oklahoma
Last Four In: Toledo, Georgia, Michigan, Duke
First Four Out: Virginia, Minnesota, Penn State, Tennessee
Next Four Out: Green Bay, Belmont, Vanderbilt, Arkansas
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Josh on X: @JoshOnREF
We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. Hawkeyes Wire operates independently, though, and this doesn’t influence our coverage.
