Iowa Can Protect Projected No. 2 Seed vs. Illinois

The B1G Tournament is the last chance for these teams to impress the NCAA Tournament committee as Selection Sunday will be here before they know it.

The No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes earned a No. 2 seed in their conference tournament which means they didn't have to play in the first or second round.

Now, they have a date with Illinois in the quarterfinals. The Hawkeyes were previously projected to receive a No. 2 seed in March Madness, now it's just a matter of protecting that seed.

Iowa took down Illinois two games ago, but this time things are different. The Fighting Illini are red-hot and while they may come in tired, the Hawkeyes are likely coming in without senior forward Hannah Stuelke.

An Iowa Loss Could Change Everything

NEW:

#11 Oregon has defeated #6 Maryland 73-68 in the Second Round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Here is a look at the updated bracket... pic.twitter.com/p8pm5Soldi
— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) March 6, 2026

It was going to be extremely hard for Jan Jensen's squad to win the conference tournament, even with Hannah Stuelke, but now they are setting their sights on winning just one game.

Taking down Illinois will prove they have incredible depth and aren't on fraud watch. Other than one bad three-game stretch this Iowa team has been incredible all season long. Now, they have to prove that one final time.

Even if Iowa wins this game and then loses to No. 3 Michigan in the semi-finals, that No. 2 seed should still be safe. It won't take a lot to protect it, but all it takes is a first round exit to potentially lose it.

Iowa Must Take Care of Business vs. Illinois

B1G Gameday 😤 pic.twitter.com/6zpdBzBi7z
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 6, 2026

The Fighting Illini are fresh off wins against Wisconsin and Michigan State, two teams Iowa also beat in the regular season. That doesn't mean anything anymore as it's tournament time and as we all know, anything can happen.

To put things into perspective, Jensen led Iowa to a 23-11 (10-8) record in her first season. Her squad was a No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament as they won a pair of games in the conference tournament before falling to No. 13 Ohio State by one point in the quarterfinals.

Now, the roles are reversed. Iowa received the automatic bye to the quarterfinals as they're looking to make sure the double-bye doesn't go to waste. Jensen has this team at 24-5 (15-3), so without either tournament they're already in better shape than they were a year ago. Winning more than one NCAA tournament game would be a success, but that all starts with a strong performance in the B1G tournament.

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