NCAA Tournament March Madness

#32 Iowa

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Projected seed: 9

Iowa's résumé reads like a team that has steamrolled lesser nonconference foes and collected a couple of useful neutral-site wins but has yet to prove itself in multiple high-quality road or neutral settings, which keeps it squarely in the middle of the conversation. The neutral victories over Mississippi and Grand Canyon and the home win over Xavier are real positives, while the trip to Michigan State is a damaging blemish that exposes uncertainty away from home. Many victories have come against opponents such as Robert Morris and Chicago State that do little to elevate the profile, so the remainder of the schedule — headlined by road tests at Iowa State, Purdue, Oregon and Washington plus home dates with Illinois, Michigan and a meeting with UCLA — offers clear, consequential opportunities to change perception. Until Iowa can beat a recognized opponent away from home, the résumé will look attractive in spots but still vulnerable.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/4Robert Morris174W101-69
11/7W Illinois358W77-58
11/14Xavier81W81-62
11/18SE Missouri St243W99-70
11/20Chicago St356W93-54
11/25(N)Mississippi51W74-69
11/26(N)Grand Canyon103W59-46
12/2@Michigan St11L71-52
12/6Maryland9083%
12/11@Iowa St517%
12/14W Michigan26298%
12/20(N)Bucknell30698%
12/29MA Lowell31199%
1/3UCLA3362%
1/6@Minnesota10971%
1/11Illinois1748%
1/14@Purdue214%
1/17@Indiana2436%
1/20Rutgers12690%
1/28USC2860%
2/1@Oregon8364%
2/4@Washington6053%
2/8Northwestern5673%
2/11@Maryland9066%
2/14Purdue230%
2/17Nebraska4870%
2/22@Wisconsin2737%
2/25Ohio St3664%
2/28@Penn St9668%
3/5Michigan124%
3/8@Nebraska4848%