Iowa & Iowa State Will Begin The NCAA Tournament On The Same Day
March Madness is here! The Iowa Hawkeyes & Iowa State Cyclones found out their matchups for the "Big Dance" on Sunday, and their first NCAA Tournament games will tip off on the same day.
Iowa (21-11) received a #10 seed in the South region, and will square off against #7 seed Cincinnati (28-6) in Columbus, Ohio. Iowa lost five out of their final six games heading into the tournament, while the Bearcats were the champs of the American Athletic Conference tournament. The game can be seen on CBS 2 this Friday (3/22) at 11:15 a.m Central.
As for Iowa State (23-11), the Cyclones received a #6 seed in the Midwest regional and will face #11 Ohio State (19-14) in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Iowa State received an automatic bid after winning the Big XII Tournament this past weekend. The Buckeyes--like the Hawkeyes--are sputtering into the tournament, having lost seven of their last ten. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:50 p.m. Friday on TBS. Does this mean Iowa fans will root FOR Iowa State?
Good luck to the Hawkeyes & Cyclones!
Also, Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines will host six NCAA Tournament games on opening weekend--four on Thursday (3/21) and two on Saturday (3/23):
- #7 Louisville vs. #10 Minnesota @ 11:15 a.m.
- #2 Michigan State vs #15 Bradley - 30 minutes after Michigan State/Bradley
- #7 Nevada vs. #10 Florida @ 5:50 p.m.
- #2 Michigan vs. #15 Montana - 30 minutes after Florida/Nevada
The Louisville/Minnesota winner faces either Michigan State or Bradley and the Nevada/Florida winner plays either Michigan or Montana on Saturday. Tip times for Saturday's second-round games will be announced following the conclusion of Thursday's games.
You can check out the complete NCAA Tournament bracket HERE.