Hlas: Iowa vs. ISU in Sweet 16? It's ... possible

The reality of what's ahead in the NCAA men's basketball tournament for Iowa, Iowa State and Northern Iowa is one thing.

Let's look beyond the tough early bridges to cross and dream of the possibilities. One leaps off the bracket page if you're an Iowan.

If the Hawkeyes and Cyclones win twice, they'll collide a week from Friday in the South Region semifinals in Houston. The Sweet 16. Oh, mercy!

And what if CBS' Seth Davis was correct with his Sunday prediction about Northern Iowa reaching the East Region (sorry, Villanova, Virginia, Oklahoma and Louisville) and advances to the Final Four? Oh, my!

What if Iowa State plays both first-halves and second-halves the dazzling way it played in the second-halves for three straight nights in Kansas City last week, and rockets out of Houston to the Final Four itself? Oh, mercy my!

See Also:NCAA Facts, TV Information for Iowa's three squads

Hawkeyes excited to learn seed, face Davidson

UNI gets 5th seed, buoyed by strong support

No. 3 seed Cyclones open NCAA tourney against 14th-seed UAB

Maybe we should plant our feet on the ground before we pencil in Iowa over Gonzaga or UNI over Louisville next Sunday, or Iowa State over either SMU or Steve Alford's UCLA team this Saturday. But you can acknowledge this, fans of our state's teams: The draws could have been much worse.

'Tis far better for Iowa to be a No. 7 seed in Seattle than be in the 8/9 Cincinnati-Purdue game in Louisville, with the winner meeting Kentucky Saturday.

'Tis far better for Iowa State to be a No. 3 seed and in the South Region with Duke and Gonzaga than to be Kansas and the No. 2 in the Midwest Region with Kentucky standing in the way of the Final Four.

'Tis far better for UNI to be a No. 5 seed in the East Region (an East Region trek that begins in Seattle) than to be a No. 5 in the Midwest with Kentucky surely waiting in the Sweet 16.

Sure, UNI was expecting a No. 4, and Iowa State could make an argument for a No. 2 ahead of Kansas. But better to have slightly lower seeds and let someone else try to deny unbeaten Kentucky history in the early rounds.

OK, Iowa has Davidson Friday. The good news for the Hawkeyes:

Davidson no longer has Stephen Curry, who helped the Wildcats to three NCAA wins in 2008, the last time they won in the big tournament. And, Davidson lost by 20 points to Virginia Commonwealth Saturday in the Atlantic 10 semifinals.

The bad news:

The Wildcats had won 10 straight games before that defeat in securing the A-10 regular-season title, and VCU needed that Saturday win more. Also, Davidson averages 10.9 three-pointers per game, second-most in the nation.

OK, Iowa State has UAB Thursday. The good news for the Cyclones:

The Blazers have lost 15 times. They fell to Wisconsin by 29 points, and to North Carolina by 31.

The bad news:

UAB won its last three games, in the Conference USA tourney, to swipe an NCAA berth. That's not really bad news as much as it is a fact.

OK, UNI has Wyoming Friday. The good news for the Panthers:

Unlike UNI, the Cowboys aren't deep. They only got a total of nine points from their bench over their three Mountain West Conference tourney wins.

The bad news:

Wyoming won by two points, by five in overtime, and by two in its three MWC tourney games. That says it's a tough team.

The good news for all basketball fans in Iowa:

It's going to be a fun week.

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