No. 1 seed Iowa were almost upset by No. 8 seed West Virginia on Monday (March 25), but the Hawkeyes were able to squeak by and score a 64-54 win in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Now, the Hawkeyes are back in the Sweet 16. Last year, they made it all the way to the championship game, and it appears they want a second chance at the trophy with this Iowa Sweet 16 run.
Bracket Busters
If you’re anything like me, then perhaps your NCAA men’s basketball bracket is already busted. Mine could be worse, but it’s in pretty bad shape. With my men’s bracket out, I’ve been touring to my women’s bracket for any hope to salvage my standings. I have Iowa winning the whole thing, and I know a lot of people do, because of basketball star Caitlin Clark.
But, it all almost ended on Monday. If you ask Clark, she’ll tell you that Iowa was never worried.
“This team was never flustered and I think that speaks to our experience,” Clark said after the game.
Iowa Sweet 16: Inside the West Virginia Game
Clark scored a whopping 32 points during the game. It marked her 45th consecutive game with at least 20 points. It was also the fifth time she’s scored more than 30 points in her last six NCAA Tournament games. But, even with those excellent numbers, it was a tough battle for the Hawkeyes. It was actually Iowa’s lowest scoring win of the season. West Virginia’s defense is extremely strong, and that was apparent throughout the game. They were able to force turnovers from Iowa, which changed the flow of the game.
West Virginia has their own star in J.J. Quinerly, who is their leading scorer.
“It’s a golden opportunity,” she said after the game of playing Iowa and Clark. “An opportunity to beat the best player in the world or go toe-to-toe with her and compete for all 40 minutes. That’s what we did that whole game, competed the whole time. And nobody can take that away from us.”
In the end, however, Iowa pulled off the victory. Next, the Iowa Sweet 16 run will begin with them against No. 5 seed Colorado in Albany, N.Y.
Final Four Predictions
So, who will be at the Final Four for the NCAA’s women’s college basketball tournament? The Sweet 16 kicks off Friday and Saturday in Albany, New York, and Portland, Oregon. The Final Four and championship game will take place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The current odds for teams to advance to the Final Four and to win the championship are currently the South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 1, Iowa Hawkeyes at No. 2, LSU Tigers at No. 3 and Stanford Cardinal at No. 4. Those odds are constantly updated at ESPN.com.
Close behind those four is UConn at No. 5. The men’s UConn team are also favorites to make it to their Final Four and go all the way. It would be pretty wild to see both UConn’s men’s and women’s basketball teams win their respective championships this year. I’m all about the underdog, but it would be special to see that happen. May the best teams win. In the meantime, check out a really cool shoutout for Caitlin Clark from LaBron James.
Sweet, Sweet Victory 🤩#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/W9TmceWVI8
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 26, 2024