Iowa earns 5 seed for Big Ten women's basketball tournament

IOWA CITY — The Iowa Hawkeyes finished in a three-way tie in the Big Ten women's basketball standings, and will be a No. 5 seed in the Big Ten tournament.

The Hawkeyes (23-6 overall, 11-5 Big Ten) open play at 1:30 p.m. (Iowa time) Thursday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, against the winner between No. 12 seed Northwestern (11-19, 4-12) and No. 13 seed Wisconsin (9-20, 2-14). Those teams play at 12:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Iowa finished tied with Nebraska (20-9, 11-5) and Minnesota (21-7, 11-5) but finished behind those teams because of the head-to-head tie-breaker (Nebraska 3-0, Minnesota 1-2, Iowa 1-3). The Hawkeyes were swept by Nebraska and split two games with Minnesota.

Ohio State (24-6, 13-3) is the outright champion; Maryland (23-6, 12-4) is the runner-up.

The bottom four teams in the standings play in the first round Wednesday. The winners of the two first-round games advance into Thursday's second-round contests, along with seeds 5 through 10.

The top four teams earn double-byes and open play in Friday's quarterfinals.

Semifinals are Saturday; the championship game is 6 p.m. Sunday.

Big Ten women's basketball tournament

First round, Wednesday

(12) Northwestern (11-19, 4-12) vs. (13) Wisconsin (9-20, 2-14), 12:30 p.m.

(11) Penn State (15-14, 6-10) vs. (14) Illinois (9-21, 0-16), 3 p.m.

Second round, Thursday

(8) Purdue (18-12, 9-7) vs. (9) Rutgers (19-11, 7-9), 11 a.m.

(5) Iowa (23-6, 11-5) vs. Northwestern/Penn State winner, 1:30 p.m.

(7) Indiana (16-13, 9-7) vs. (10) Michigan State (17-12, 7-9), 5:30 p.m.

(6) Michigan (21-8, 10-6) vs. Penn State/Illinois winner, 8 p.m.

Quarterfinals, Friday

(1) Ohio State (24-6, 13-3) vs. Purdue/Rutgers winner, 11 a.m.

(4) Minnesota (22-7, 11-5) vs. Iowa/Northwestern/Wisconsin winner, 1:30 p.m.

(2) Maryland (23-6, 12-4) vs. Indiana/Michigan State winner, 5:30 p.m.

(3) Nebraska (20-9, 11-5) vs. Michigan/Penn State/Illinois winner, 8 p.m.

Semifinals, Saturday

Top bracket, 5 p.m.

Bottom bracket, 7:30 p.m.

Championship, Sunday

Semifinal winners, 6 p.m.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com