Iowa vs. Colorado NCAA women’s basketball game time, TV, live stream, storylines

The No. 2-seed Iowa Hawkeyes (28-6) take on the No. 6-seed Colorado Buffaloes (25-8) in an NCAA women’s basketball tournament Sweet 16 game Friday at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.

How to watch Iowa vs. Colorado in Sweet 16 game

Time: 6:30 p.m. (CT) Friday, March 24, 2023

TV: ESPN

Live stream: ESPN.com

TV announcers: Pam Ward, Stephanie White, Holly Rowe

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

The road to Sweet 16

How they got here: Big Ten tournament champion Iowa beat No. 15-seed Southeastern Louisiana 95-43 in the first round last Friday, then held off No. 10-seed Georgia 74-66 in a second-round game Sunday, both at home. Colorado, third in the Pac-12 standings, beat No. 11-seed Middle Tennessee 82-60 in the first round Saturday and won at third-seeded Duke in overtime, 61-53, Monday night.

Series: Tied 3-3. Iowa won the last meeting, 80-62 in a 2017 WNIT game in Iowa City.

Line: Iowa -5.5

Which team could they face next?: The winner will face either No. 5-seed Louisville (25-11) or No. 8-seed Mississippi (25-8) in the regional final Sunday. The Rebels and Cardinals play at 9 p.m. (CT) Friday (ESPN).

Five facts about Iowa vs. Colorado women’s basketball

1. Iowa All-American Caitlin Clark should move closer to the record for points in a season by a Big Ten player. She has 912 points, two behind second-place Rachel Banham (Minnesota, 2015-16). Iowa’s Megan Gustafson set the record with 1,001 in 2018-19.

2. The Hawkeyes are 4-4 all-time in Sweet 16 games, the most-recent win coming in 2019 against North Carolina State.

3. Colorado lost a first-round NCAA game in Iowa City last year, 84-78 to Creighton, which went on to upset Iowa in the second round. The Buffaloes are in the Sweet 16 for the first time in 20 years.

4. Four Colorado players average double-figures scoring, led by 6-foot-3 senior center Quay Miller (13.1), who is in her second year at Colorado after spending two years at Washington. She went to high school at Kentridge, about 20 miles south of Climate Pledge Arena.

5. Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said Thursday that key reserves Hannah Stuelke and Molly Davis are “as close to 100 percent as you can be this time of year.” Stuelke (7.0 ppg) didn’t play against Georgia after turning her ankle in practice the day before. Davis (4.1 ppg) left the game briefly after an opposing player fell on her leg.

Colorado-Iowa pregame stories:

» Something big and so rare is on the line for Hawkeye women this weekend

» NCAA’s new format and sites force women’s basketball teams to ramp up the travel, especially to Seattle

» Cedar Rapids native Shelley Sheetz is most comfortable in her role as a Colorado assistant

» The spark for Iowa’s late-season run came in a lopsided loss at Maryland

» Iowa’s Caitlin Clark leads the country in assists, on and off the court