Where is Iowa women's basketball in Big Ten Tournament bracket? Hawkeyes' seed announced

Where is Iowa women’s basketball in Big Ten Tournament bracket? Hawkeyes’ seed announced

Posted by author March 2, 2025 Basketball

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IOWA CITY — Given the chaos this Big Ten women’s basketball season produced all year long, it was only fitting the league’s conference tournament needed until the final game to officially cement several parts.

It’s all known now, and Iowa women’s basketball is right in the middle of the intrigue. The Hawkeyes (20-9, 10-8 Big Ten Conference) have landed the No. 11 seed and will open the Big Ten Tournament at approximately 7:30 p.m. against No. 14 seed Wisconsin inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Hawkeyes ended in a four-way tie with Oregon, Nebraska and Indiana for the No. 8 through No. 11 seeds — but finished last in the round-robin tiebreaker with a 1-3 record against the other three.

How Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament journey would start remained in limbo even after Iowa’s 81-66 win over the Badgers on Sunday afternoon. The Hawkeyes could’ve been the No. 10 or No. 11 seed up until Oregon-Washington went final. Now that we know the Hawkeyes’ postseason path, let’s dive in to how next week could possibly look.

Considering it was one of several postseason possibilities to start the day, Iowa likely didn’t do anything in-game with eyes on a potential Wisconsin rematch three days later. But that’s exactly what the Hawkeyes will get as they hunt down a 31st consecutive win in the series.

Could this scheduling quirk create mayhem on the court?

“I think it is just a thing,” Jensen said. “You could probably find a reason why you wouldn’t want to play someone. And then you want to play someone else you’re not playing. And if you played that team, you wish you were playing the other team.

“So I think it’ll be interesting. They’ll have some confidence with the first half, right? Hopefully, we’ll have some confidence with how we came out in the second half. But I don’t really have a feeling. I just know — it’s not my first rodeo — anything happens in March.”

Interestingly, none of Iowa’s victories on this incredible Wisconsin winning streak have come in the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes should be able to highlight plenty from Sunday’s victory to build off, considering Iowa didn’t fully get momentum flowing until the third quarter’s back half. The talent discrepancy might be too wide for Wisconsin to finally end this black-and-gold skid, but the Hawkeyes shouldn’t bank on that being enough to generate a positive postseason start.

From there, Iowa would get No. 6 seed Michigan State at 5:30 p.m. Thursday on Big Ten Network. The Hawkeyes’ 68-66 stumble in East Lansing on Dec. 15 feels like a decade ago, although it wouldn’t take long for Iowa to dig that frustration back up. The Hawkeyes had a lead as large as nine in that game before a fourth-quarter slump made for a tough loss.

Should the Hawkeyes stay alive until Friday’s quarterfinals, No. 3 seed Ohio State awaits at 8 p.m. for a late-night revenge battle. Of all the teams Iowa would like another shot at, the Buckeyes — after the Feb. 17 overtime loss in Columbus — might sit at the top of the list. But there’s a lot of work needed to make that reality.

Had Iowa landed the No. 10 seed, its Indianapolis path would’ve been Rutgers, then Illinois, then likely No. 2 seed UCLA in the quarterfinals. That would’ve been more encouraging on the front end than what Iowa received, but less so on the back end with the Bruins lurking. Either way, the Hawkeyes have a reasonable shot to add significant substance to an ascending NCAA Tournament resume.

Hear from Iowa women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen after Hawkeyes topple Wisconsin

Big Ten women’s basketball tournament schedule 2025

All times Central. All games will be played at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Seeds and games will be updated.

Wednesday, March 5

First round

Game 1: No. 12 seed Washington vs. No. 13 seed Minnesota | 2:30 p.m. | Peacock
Game 2: No. 10 seed Nebraska vs. No. 15 seed Rutgers | 25 mins after game 1 | Peacock
Game 3: No. 11 seed Iowa vs. No. 14 seed Wisconsin | 25 mins after game 2 | Peacock

Thursday, March 6

Second round

Game 4: No. 8 seed Oregon vs. No. 9 seed Indiana | 11 a.m. | Big Ten Network
Game 5: No. 5 seed Michigan vs. Game 1 winner | 25 mins after game 4 | Big Ten Network
Game 6: No. 7 seed Illinois vs. Game 2 winner | 5:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Game 7: No. 6 seed Michigan State vs. Game 3 winner | 25 mins after game 6 | Big Ten Network

Friday, March 7

Quarterfinals

Game 8: No. 1 seed USC vs. Game 5 winner | 11 a.m. | Big Ten Network
Game 9: No. 4 seed Maryland vs. Game 4 winner | 25 mins after game 8 | Big Ten Network
Game 10: No. 2 seed UCLA vs. Game 6 winner | 5:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Game 11: No. 3 seed Ohio State vs. Game 7 winner | 25 mins after game 10 | Big Ten Network

Saturday, March 8

Semifinals

Game 12: Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner | 2 p.m. | Big Ten Network
Game 13: Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner | 4:30 p.m. | Big Ten Network

Sunday, March 9

Championship

Game 14: Game 12 winner vs. Game 13 winner | 3:30 p.m. | CBS

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.