March Madness picks: ESPN shares Iowa women's basketball prediction
· Yahoo Sports
For the fourth time in the last five seasons, the Iowa women's basketball program is hosting the first two rounds in the NCAA Tournament.
Despite moderate preseason expectations, the Hawkeyes made it to the Big Ten Tournament championship game and secured a No. 2 seed in this year's tournament. Jan Jensen's squad has made a habit of outperforming lower expectations all season long, and they're going to have to do it again.
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Despite being a No. 2 seed that's played fantastic basketball the last month, outside of a blowout loss to UCLA, one big member of the national media isn't predicting a super long stay in the tournament for the Hawkeyes. Charlie Creme of ESPN predicted every single game in the women's NCAA Tournament, and had Iowa bowing out earlier than fans may think.
Creme predicted Iowa to dominate Fairleigh Dickinson in the first round, 94-56, securing a date with Georgia in the second round. He picked the Hawkeyes to squeak by the Bulldogs, 68-65, to advance to the Sweet 16.
Creme has Iowa's season ending in the Sweet 16, though, with a 73-72 loss to third-seeded TCU. He had top-seeded South Carolina coming out of the Sacramento 4 Region. Here's what Creme had to say about a potential matchup between Iowa and TCU:
A potential TCU-Iowa matchup in the regional semifinals could be the game of the region. It's the Big 12 regular-season champ against the Big Ten's second-best team. Olivia Miles can have a big game against another team that likes to play fast. -Charlie Creme, ESPN.
While a Sweet 16 birth is nothing to scoff at, it would be a bit disappointing for Iowa to not make it past there as the No. 2 seed in the region. The Horned Frogs would be a difficult matchup, but Iowa is capable of beating them to advance further. Iowa has the talent and coaching staff to make an Elite Eight run in this bracket, even if ESPN isn't picking them to do so.
Jensen's Hawkeyes have been defying expectations all season long. Fans and media members would be foolish to count out their ability to make a run in the NCAA Tournament.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: March Madness picks: ESPN shares Iowa women's basketball prediction