Iowa vs. Michigan: A sellout, Senior Day and a Big Ten women’s basketball showdown

IOWA CITY — As scripts go, this one is hard to top.

Home finale. Packed arena. Winner-take-all, or at least, winner-take-some.

That’s what the Iowa Hawkeyes have Sunday.

That’s what the Hawkeyes have earned.

No. 21 Iowa (19-7 overall, 13-4 Big Ten) takes aim at its first regular-season women’s basketball league title in 14 years, when it hosts No. 6 Michigan (22-4, 13-3).

Tipoff is 3 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. If you don’t have a ticket, tough luck; it’s sold out. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN2.

“There’s a lot on the line,” Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder said. “I think Michigan is the best team in the Big Ten.”

Bluder said that midweek, before the Hawkeyes went to Rutgers and won Thursday, setting up this showdown.

“(A Big Ten title), that would be pretty incredible,” sophomore guard Caitlin Clark said. “The season has been like a roller coaster.”

The Hawkeyes endured an early-season COVID-19 outbreak, in which three games were canceled. They survived late-season injuries to Gabbie Marshall and McKenna Warnock, both of whom have returned.

Warnock has scored 57 points in the three games since she came back. She was 5-for-9 from long range at Rutgers.

Sunday’s game features the top two candidates for Big Ten player-of-the-year honors.

Clark went over the 1,500-point career mark (in less than two seasons) on Thursday. She is leading the nation in scoring (27.1 points per game) and assists (8.2 per contest) and leads the team in rebounds (8.0 per game).

Michigan senior post Naz Hillmon averages 21.2 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

Iowa’s Monika Czinano announced last week that she will be coming back for a fifth season next year. So only two fourth-year players — Tomi Taiwo and Logan Cook — will be honored during postgame Senior Day activities.

Bluder confirmed Wednesday that neither Taiwo nor Cook will return for 2022-23. The Hawkeyes will have 14 scholarship players next season (assuming everybody else comes back), leaving room for one more if a transfer-portal possibility arises.

“It’s kind of a weird situation with (the extra year, granted by the NCAA due to the onset of COVID in 2020),” Bluder said. “With the kids we have coming in and with Monika coming back ... I couldn’t bring everybody back.

“We had that conversation before the season. It can be an uncomfortable conversation, but I wanted to have it early.”

Bluder said that Cook — an Iowa City West grad — has expressed interest in a graduate transfer elsewhere, and that Taiwo has not, as of yet.

A guard from Carmel, Ind., Taiwo started five games during the injury outbreak and averages 4.5 points per game. Cook has played in 10 games this season, starting one.

If Iowa wins, it will be assured a share of the Big Ten championship, along with Ohio State. The Buckeyes play at Michigan State at 1:30 Sunday afternoon (BTN), about 90 minutes before Iowa and Michigan tip.

A Michigan State upset, coupled with an Iowa win, would make the Hawkeyes outright Big Ten champions.

In terms of Big Ten tournament seeding, Iowa is the 1 seed with a win and an Ohio State loss, the 2 seed with a victory and an Ohio State win, and the 4 seed with a loss.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com