March Madness is now in full swing, with both the NCAA Men’s and Women’s basketball tournaments beginning Thursday and Friday.
The state of Iowa will boast a total of five teams in action, as both University of Iowa and both Iowa State University squads will play in their respective tourneys. Also involved will be the Drake University women, who could meet Iowa in the second round.
Iowa will play the first televised game and Iowa State they next-to-last game Friday in the men’s field.
Seeded 10th in the South, Iowa (22-11) faces seventh-seeded Cincinnati (28-6) in Columbus, Oh. at 11:15 on CBS. The winner plays Sunday (TBD) in Columbus against the winner of second-seed Tennessee (29-5) and 15th-seeded Colgate (24-10). Virginia is the top seed in the region.
Iowa State (23-11) is the No. 6 seed in the Midwest and opens, in Tulsa, Ok., against 11th-seeded Ohio State (19-14) at 8:50 p.m. on TBS. Awaiting the winner Sunday will be either three-seed Houston (31-3) or 14th-seeded Georgia State (24-9). North Carolina is the top seed in the Midwest.
Women’s play on Friday will include host and two-seed Iowa (26-6) squaring off with No. 15 seed Mercer (25-7) at 1 p.m. on ESPN2. Drake (27-6), seeded 10th, faces No. 7 seed Missouri (23-10) on ESPN 2 30 minutes after the Iowa vs. Mercer contest, with the winners to meet in Iowa City Sunday. Overall top seed Baylor is the No. 1 seed in the Greensboro, N.C. bracket.
Host Iowa State (25-8) is the three-seed in the Chicago regional and will battle New Mexico State (26-6), the 14th-seed, Saturday on ESPN2. The game will air 30 minute after the 2:30 p.m. game in Ames between sixth-seeded DePaul (26-7) and No. 11 seed Missouri State (23-9). The game will also be on ESPN2; the two winners meet at Hilton Coliseum Monday. Defending national champion Notre Dame is the top seed in the Chicago bracket.
All times listed are Central. Game time for second round contests in both tournaments are to be determined.
