| Opponent | No. 2 Iowa (26-6, 15-3) vs. No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana (21-9, 14-4) |
| Date | Friday, Mar. 17 |
| Location | Carver-Hawkeye Arena // Iowa City, Iowa |
| Tipoff | 3 p.m. (CT) |
| TV | ESPN |
| Radio | Hawkeye Radio Network // Sirius XM Channel 137 |
THE SETTING
2-Seed Iowa is set to host 15-Seed Southeastern Louisiana in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament in front of a sold out Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Tip off for the contest is set for 3 p.m. (CT). This will be Iowa’s seventh sell out in program history and second consecutive this season.
STREAM
The game will broadcast on ESPN. Dave O’Brien and Christy Winters Scott will call the action.
THE SERIES
This will be the first meeting between the two programs.
IOWA’S 2-SEED HISTORY
– The Hawkeyes have been a 2-Seed three times since 2019.
– This is the fifth time in school history Iowa has been tabbed as a 2-Seed.
– The Hawkeyes are 9-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament as a 2-Seed (1993, 1996, 2019, 2022).
– Iowa’s Final Four appearance came in 1993 and the latest Elite Eight showing in 2019.
SCOUTING SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
– It will be the Lady Lions’ first NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Southland Conference Championship.
– The squad boasts four all-conference selections and the coach of the year in the conference, Ayla Guzzardo.
– Lost to a pair of NCAA Tournament automatic qualifiers, Alabama and LSU, by a combined 18 points on the road.
– The Lady Lions only give up 54.5 ppg on the defensive end of the floor.
– Has two scorers in double figures; Alexius Horne and Hailey Giaratano.
– Giaratano was the SLC Tournament MVP with a 15-point performance over Lamar, rallying from an 11 point deficit in SLC Title game. Taylor Bell was an SLC All-Tournament selection.
WHAT 2 WATCH 4
– Caitlin Clark needs 36 points to register the second 900 point single season in school history.
– Monika Czinano needs one rebound for her 750th career rebound which ranks inside the top 15 in program history.
– Clark needs three assists to be the all-time leader in scoring and assists as a junior at the University of Iowa.
– Clark leads the nation in games with +25 points, +5 assists, and +5 rebounds this season. (16)
– Over the last nine games, Gabbie Marshall is shooting 61.9% from 3-point range. (26-42)
– Lisa Bluder is eyeing her 10th First Round victory in the NCAA Tournament at Iowa which is the most by any head coach in program history.
– Clark needs one more 20 point performance to have 30 this season.
PROGRAM QUICK HITTERS
– Highest AP Ranking last week (No. 2) since 1994.
– Iowa won its third Big Ten Tournament title since 2019, over Ohio State which was the largest margin of victory in BTT Championship history.
– Clark was named the Big Ten Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.
– Monika Czinano and Clark were unanimous All-Big Ten selections.
– Lisa Bluder and Clark were named to both Naismith Semifinalists Lists. (COY/POY)
– Since 2008, Bluder’s teams own a 228-42 record inside of Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In that stretch, the Hawkeyes have posted three undefeated seasons at home. Over the last eight years, Iowa has dropped the second-fewest regular season home games in the Big Ten.
– Czinano was tabbed as a Lisa Leslie Center of the Year Semifinalist.
– Iowa has had five out of the last six Big Ten Player of the Year award winners.
– Clark was the Big Ten Tournament MVP for the second straight season which has only happened three times in conference history.
– For the first time in the Lisa Bluder era, the Hawkeyes won 15 Big Ten regular season conference games.
– This is Iowa’s 29th trip in school history to the Big Dance.
– Over the last nine games, Gabbie Marshall is shooting 61.9% from 3-point range. (26-42)
– Bluder owns a 489-248 (.663) record and a 247-141 (.637) conference mark at Iowa. In her 38 seasons as a head coach, Bluder is 846-389 (.684).