If Hawks win out over the right opponents?

[SwirlinLingerie]

Seems like Iowa is considered a solid 6 seed right now.

If the BT tourney goes chalk, other than Iowa, and Iowa wins out, it would include wins against Michigan State (NET 21), Ohio State (18), UCLA (6) and USC (5).

That would seem to easily make them a 5 seed. Does it even put a #4 seed in play? You know the committee would love to see two 15,000 sellouts.

Iowa would be 25-9, 13-2 in its last 15 games, with the only losses being in the last minute to UCLA and an overtime loss at Ohio State. It'd also have two wins over USC and a win over UCLA. It's at 28 in the NET now - would they possibly jump into the 16-18 range?

Again, this is assuming all those opponents line up just right for Iowa. Just trying to assess the absolute ceiling.

 

[Hawkfnntn]

Yeah ESPN has Iowa as a 6th seed but guess what that'd mean the way they had it lined up? Here's to hoping they aren't right...

They'd have Iowa having to play Duke in the 2nd round then Uconn and then South Carolina to get to the final 4 with Texas being the 1 seed most likely to be in final 4 on that side. With USC and UCLA on the opposite side being 1 seeds.

 

[guffus]

The hard part, of course, is winning 5 games in 5 days.

One of the keys to winning the Big Ten tourney in the Caitlin Clark years was getting the double bye and only needing to win 3 games in 3 days. The other key, of course, was having Caitlin Clark on the team.

 

[wwhawk]

Seems like Iowa is considered a solid 6 seed right now.

If the BT tourney goes chalk, other than Iowa, and Iowa wins out, it would include wins against Michigan State (NET 21), Ohio State (18), UCLA (6) and USC (5).

That would seem to easily make them a 5 seed. Does it even put a #4 seed in play? You know the committee would love to see two 15,000 sellouts.

Iowa would be 25-9, 13-2 in its last 15 games, with the only losses being in the last minute to UCLA and an overtime loss at Ohio State. It'd also have two wins over USC and a win over UCLA. It's at 28 in the NET now - would they possibly jump into the 16-18 range?

Again, this is assuming all those opponents line up just right for Iowa. Just trying to assess the absolute ceiling.

Like you optimism--and the best part is it isn't unrealistic.

Hawks have beaten the BADgers 30 times in a row (round 1 opponent)
Hawks lost by 2 @ Sparty (round 2 opponent)
Hawks lost in OT @ Bucknuts (round 3 opponent)
Hawks lost by 2 to the Bruins (semi final)
Hawks beat the Trojans already (4th straight B1G tourney title)

The last couple B1G tournaments were played in "Carver North". Not sure if the Hawks will have the functional equivalent of the home court advantage in Indianapolis, but most assuredly the crowd will be more pro-Iowa than the road games in E. Lansing & Columbus. & it's a long way from LA to Indiana!

Yep, 5 W's in 5 days will be very difficult. (But hey, CC will likely be there, and possibly Bluder and Letterman and other good luck charms, as well).

GO HAWKS!! Climb up to that #4 seed and two more home games this season for the Dance!

 

[99topdawg]

One problem is that moving up from a 6 to a 4/5 means matching up with a 1 seed in the Sweet 16. I know that's some really optimistic thinking. Being a 6 does make it tougher to get there though. It's the reason why a 11 seed is not bad in the BTT. We'll play a 6 then a 3. OSU is pretty damn tough, but I don't really want to see USC or UCLA again, especially with tired legs.

 

[CP87]

The hard part, of course, is winning 5 games in 5 days.

One of the keys to winning the Big Ten tourney in the Caitlin Clark years was getting the double bye and only needing to win 3 games in 3 days. The other key, of course, was having Caitlin Clark on the team.

I think Iowa may have only won 1 regular season title with Clark (tied with OSU in '21-'22). To win a regular season title you have to have the depth to withstand injuries, off-nights from some of your complementary players, etc. Iowa never had that kind of depth of talent, so it is not surprising they only came out on top once during Clark's time.

But they were an absolute monster in a tournament setting. In a tournament, so much comes down to, "who is the best player on the court?" And we had the best player on the court every time. They were runners-up in the B1G tourney her freshman year, and champs the next 3.

In the NCAA tourney, they made the sweet 16 her freshman year as a 5-seed, before falling to UCONN. Clark's sophomore season was the only time they underperformed (the upset loss to a tough Creighton team), and they made 2 straight championship games after that.

It took awhile, but Lucy is finally playing in a way that she could carry this team to a few improbable wins, but I think 5 in 5 days is unrealistic.