Little drama, still plenty of NCAA questions for Iowa

IOWA CITY - There's less drama for Iowa associated with this Selection Sunday, at least when compared with last year's late-season skid that nearly kept the Hawkeyes from the NCAA tournament.

The Hawkeyes (21-11) will compete in their second consecutive NCAA tournament after suffering through a seven-year drought from 2007-2013. Iowa's 7-3 true-road record, 12 Big Ten victories and six-game winning streak to finish regular-season play gives the team a strong resume.

'It's a little bit nicer than obviously last year when we didn't know even if we're going to be in,” Iowa senior Aaron White said. 'We'll be in, but we'll be excited to see the seeding, where we're going, who we're playing.”

But losses over the final four weeks to Minnesota (Ratings Performance Index: 99), Northwestern (RPI: 122) and Penn State (RPI: 100) will leave a mark on Iowa's tournament seeding. As of Friday's Iowa's RPI - which calculates a team's wins, its opponents' wins and its opponents' opponents' wins - was 44, which is good enough to get in the tournament but mediocre enough to cost the Hawkeyes a seed line or two. RPI is one of several measurements analyzed by the NCAA selection committee.

FIGURING SEED, LOCATION

Many NCAA tournament bracket analysts project Iowa as a No. 7 or No. 8 seed based on their record, RPI, strength-of-schedule and other criteria. The eight locations for the tournament's first weekend range from local (Omaha, Neb.) to regional (Columbus, Ohio, and Louisville, Ky.) to distant (Seattle, Pittsburgh, Charlotte, N.C., Jacksonville, Fla., Portland, Ore.).

The selection committee ranks the teams and slots them in order with an eye on geography, for both the first and second weekends. It's likely Kentucky will earn the top overall seed, play in Louisville and be placed in the Cleveland regional. Other regional locations include Los Angeles, Houston and Syracuse, N.Y.

In the past the weakest No. 2 seed would slot with the top No. 1 seed. That has changed to accommodate geography. If Wisconsin, for instance, was considered the fifth-best team and the top No. 2 seed, the committee previously would pair it with the weakest No. 1 seed or fourth-best seed. Now, Wisconsin and Kentucky would land in the same regional because of their proximity to Cleveland.

'The S‑curve is not something that we currently use in our principles and procedures,” said Utah State Athletics Director Scott Barnes, chair of the NCAA Division I men's basketball committee.

If geography is a primary tenet, it could play a role in Iowa's first-weekend location, even as a potential No. 7 seed. For example if Iowa and Ohio State are judged as virtually equal, with comparable openings Big Ten teams in Louisville and Omaha, the choice is easy.

'Geography certainly plays a current component in our current principles and procedures,” Barnes said. 'Teams from the same conference being placed in the same region is another consideration, making sure that we have separation there.”

BRACKETING PRINCIPLES

Conference realignment has changed how officials compile the NCAA tournament bracket. The Big Ten and SEC each have 14 teams and the ACC has 15. No longer does the committee prevent conference schools or even in-state rivals from meeting until the regional finals.

According to the bracket principles enacted in August 2013, the committee places a league's first four teams in different regions if they are among the top four seeds. If teams have played three or more times - say Iowa State and Texas - they cannot meet until the Elite Eight. If teams have played twice - Iowa-Wisconsin, for instance - they cannot meet until the Sweet Sixteen. If league teams have played only once - Iowa-Maryland - they can meet in the round of 32. The principles are relaxed with First Four participation.

The selection committee will avoid non-conference rematches in the opening round, but not afterward. That means Iowa could play Iowa State or Northern Iowa in the round of 32.

Regardless of who and where Iowa plays, the Hawkeyes will get a chance. Speculation has swirled for weeks about Iowa's NCAA tournament seed and location. Sunday, the conjecture ends.

'I still think we're one of the better teams in the country,” White said. 'We'll be able to prove that, and we'll get an opportunity to prove that in the NCAA.”

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