With ‘extremely beneficial’ double-bye, Hawkeyes prepare for 2 scenarios

INDIANAPOLIS — Iowa’s historic win over then-No. 6 Michigan was four days ago.

But for the Hawkeyes, it might as well have been four weeks ago.

“We let them celebrate yesterday,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said Tuesday. “Today, it’s over.”

Now, the focus is on capturing a Big Ten tournament title.

Second-seeded Iowa, which will play its first game Friday against either Northwestern or Minnesota, is well-positioned for a deep run in the conference tournament.

Bluder’s group has won its last four games, three of which were against top-10 foes. Iowa now leads the country in points per 100 possessions, according to Her Hoops Stats.

“It’s March now,” guard Caitlin Clark said. “It’s the best time of the year, so we’re excited. We feel like we're playing our best basketball.”

The Hawkeyes’ double-bye places them just two wins away from the title game.

Bluder said having the double-bye is “extremely beneficial” although preparation still can be difficult.

“Not knowing who you’re going to have until 8:30 the night before doesn’t give you a lot of time to make changes,” Bluder said. “No practice time.”

There aren’t many similarities to pull from in the preparation for either Northwestern or Minnesota, adding to the challenge.

“Minnesota and Northwestern are so different,” Bluder said. “So having to prepare for two totally different teams is a lot.”

Northwestern proved to be the more worthy foe in regular-season play. The Wildcats were the only unranked Big Ten team to beat Iowa in 2021-22. Minnesota, on the other hand, lost by 56 in the first game against Iowa and 10 in the second game.

“We have to spend more time preparing for Northwestern because the nature of the way they play,” Bluder said.

Iowa can’t lean too heavily on the Northwestern scenario, though.

“We won't give the team a scout until we actually know our opponent,” Bluder said Tuesday. “So that’ll just make practices interesting this week.”

Aside from the obvious benefits of winning a conference title, Iowa’s performance in Indianapolis could remove any doubt about whether the Hawkeyes could host NCAA Tournament games.

The NCAA selection committee slated Iowa as a No. 4 seed — high enough to host the first two rounds — in its rankings this week.

“I think one win really does lock it in,” Bluder said. “Even if something would happen (Friday), we still would have a possibility.”

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