This year, Hawkeyes will hit the road for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament

IOWA CITY — Jan Jensen has an amateur bracketologist under her roof.

“I typically don’t look at all of the prognostications,” the Iowa women’s basketball coach said earlier this week. “Now I rely on my son, Jack.

“He thinks we’re going to Norman.”

That certainly is one possibility when the NCAA women’s field is revealed Sunday.

ESPN will televise the selection show at 7 p.m.

Prevailing opinion is that the Hawkeyes (22-10) will be a 6-seed.

“I’m so grateful that we’ve done the work to get to that point,” Jensen said. “I feel we are one of the hotter teams going into the tournament.”

Six weeks ago, Iowa was nowhere near a sure thing just to make the tournament. The Hawkeyes suffered a five-game losing streak to dip to 12-8.

Since then, they have won 10 of 13 games, highlighted by a win over top-five USC.

“Looking at our last 10 games, I would like to be looked upon favorably. We have shown a lot of growth. We’re a really competitive team at the perfect time,” Jensen said.

The Hawkeyes will be making a true NCAA road trip for the first time since 2018 (the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the complete 2021 event was in San Antonio).

The top 16 seeds, four in each region, will host the first two rounds.

So if Iowa is a 6-seed, the Hawkeyes will accompany an 11-seed and a 14-seed to the site of a 3-seed.

And Norman, Okla., home of the Oklahoma Sooners, certainly qualifies as a potential 3-seed, just as Jensen’s son said.

Others, according to ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme, are Duke (Durham, N.C.), LSU (Baton Rouge, La.) and Kentucky (Lexington, Ky.).

“I think the NCAA likes storylines,” Jensen said. “And the matchup with (Oklahoma Coach) Jennie (Baranczyk) would be a cool storyline.”

Baranczyk is a University of Iowa alum, a West Des Moines native and the former coach at Drake.

Speaking of storylines ... why not LSU?

A potential second-round game in Baton Rouge would be a rematch of the 2023 NCAA final (won by LSU) and the 2024 Elite Eight (won by Iowa).

Of course, there’s a first-round game to be won before that.

According to Creme, 11-seeds include mid-majors George Mason, Columbia, Harvard and Fairfield.

Jensen is less concerned about seed number or location than matchups.

“Hoping for somebody that’s not too big, way huge inside,” she said. “I’d like somebody that plays a similar game to us. But we’re not shying away from anything.”

Iowa will make its 31st NCAA appearance, its seventh consecutive. The Hawkeyes reached the championship game in 2023 and 2024.

With two wins, Iowa would advance to the Sweet 16 for the third straight year. Regionals are at Birmingham, Ala., and Spokane, Wash., March 28-31.

The Final Four is at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Fla. Semifinals are April 4; the national championship game is April 6.

Iowa’s NCAA resume

Record: 22-10.

Big Ten: 10-8 (T-8th).

Big Ten tournament: Quarterfinalist. Beat Wisconsin, 81-54; beat Michigan State, 74-61; lost to Ohio State, 60-59.

NET ranking: 24.

Last 10: 7-3.

Quad 1: 6-7. Quad 2: 3-3. Quad 3: 4-0. Quad 4: 9-0.

Best wins: USC (H), Michigan (A), Michigan State (N).

Worst losses: Nebraska (H), Indiana (H), Maryland (H).

What they’re saying: ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme projects the Hawkeyes heading to Durham, N.C., for the first two rounds, with a first-round game against 11-seed Fairfield. Host Duke is projected as a 3-seed and the likely second-round opponent. Other 3-seeds (and potential landing spots for the Hawkeyes) are LSU, Oklahoma and Kentucky.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com