Iowa women’s basketball: Caitlin Clark looks to lead Hawkeyes on magical run in March Madness

The Iowa women’s basketball program just won the Big Ten Tournament and could win the whole thing in Minneapolis on the first weekend of April.

There has never been a better time to hop on the Iowa women’s basketball team bandwagon than right before the 2022 NCAA Tournament begins.

The Hawkeyes had a great season, but have caught fire recently. They are the hottest team in the Big Ten now, having won seven games in a row and their second conference championship in four years. Lisa Bluder has a team certainly capable of getting back to the Sweet Sixteen, and possibly beyond the Elite Eight. With the right matchups, this group could be heading to the Final Four.

Iowa women’s basketball: 1 player to watch – Caitlin Clark

Sophomore point guard Caitlin Clark is the Hawkeyes’ best player. Clark has been First-Team All-Big Ten in her first two seasons in Iowa City. She was the conference’s freshman of the year a season ago and is fresh off being named the Big Ten Player of the Year for 2022. Clark is averaging 27.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the field.

She regularly scores in the 30s and is always in double figures. Because of her versatile playing style, Clark can lead her team to victory even when the shots are not falling. On the season, she has recorded five triple-doubles with relatively even distribution when it comes to assisting and rebounding. With room to grow, she is still making 33.3 percent of her shots from 3-point range.

Iowa women’s basketball: 1 reason they’ll cut down the nets – Battle-tested

The biggest reason why Iowa can win the NCAA Tournament is how battle-tested they have been. They have already taken their lumps in Big Ten play with tough losses to the likes of Ohio State, Michigan and Maryland. However, the Hawkeyes have not dropped a game since a 12-point home loss to the Terrapins in a Valentine’s Day heartbreaker. This is an ascending program catching fire.

In the history of Iowa women’s basketball, no other team has won a Big Ten regular-season title and the conference tournament in the same year. They have one of the best players in the country playing her best basketball. While Bluder has been the head coach for over two decades now, this has the chance to be the best team she has ever coached. All it takes is one special run in March.

Iowa women’s basketball: Recent NCAA Tournament history

Outside of the canceled NCAA Tournament in 2020 because of COVID-19, the Hawkeyes have made it to the big dance every year since 2018. That team lost in the first round to Creighton. After winning the Big Ten Tournament for the third time in school history in 2019, the Hawkeyes made it all the way to the Elite Eight, only the fourth time they have ever gotten that far in March.

Though they added an eighth Sweet 16 appearance in school history last year, it was a step back from the year prior. To date, Iowa has only been to one Final Four in school history. That came in 1993 when the team was coached by Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame inductee C. Vivian Stringer. She would leave the program only a few seasons later to take the job over at Rutgers University.

Ultimately, Iowa should be good enough to at least get back to the Sweet 16. If Iowa gets a favorable matchup on its side of the bracket, the Hawkeyes can not only return to the Elite Eight but go to the Final Four for the first time in a generation. From there, it is all about how Iowa matches up with some of the women’s college basketball blue bloods they are sure to see there.

All it takes is one magnificent run to change everything and no Big Ten team is hotter than Iowa.

If you’re still not sure who to root for in the Women’s NCAA Tournament, our Flavor Finder can help you find a new favorite.

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