Iowa Named Top 16 Seed in NCAA Tournament

While their official seed won't be revealed until 8:00 p.m. EST on March 15, the Iowa Hawkeyes learned they were among the Top 16 seeds.

The NCAA unveiled the Top 16 in alphabetical order in order to give these schools further time to sell tickets for their tournament games.

To no surprise, the 26-6 Hawkeyes, fresh off a trip to the B1G Championship game, are among those 16.

Iowa has long been rumored to be receiving a No. 2 seed come March Madness, though that noise will finally be put to rest in the next day as the full bracket is revealed.

Iowa Named Top 16 Seed

Top 16 Reveal
#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/xJRPqy7Nso
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessWBB) March 14, 2026

For those in the area or making their travel plans, Iowa announced a limited number of tickets will go on sale to the general public at 10:00 a.m. EST on March 16. No matter what happens to the Hawkeyes, Iowa will be hosting first and second round matchups.

This is a huge advantage for second year head coach Jan Jensen, as last year's squad received the No. 6 seed and had to play at No. 3 Oklahoma in the second round. This year, that won't be a factor for Iowa. As long as they take care of business in the first round, they'll have two extra home games on their schedule.

A trip to the Sweet 16 gets incredibly easier knowing they'd be able to do so in-front of their home fans. Carver has been sold out for three-straight seasons as season ticket holders have bought into the program well beyond the Caitlin Clark era.

Iowa Awaits Their Official Seed

March in CHA 🔥

We're officially a host site for the NCAA First & Second Rounds.

A limited number of tickets will go on sale to the general public at 9 a.m. (CT) on Monday! pic.twitter.com/5NZpv3qdr7
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) March 14, 2026

Fellow B1G schools in the Top 16 include: Michigan, UCLA, Minnesota, and Ohio State. Iowa knocked off the Wolverines in the B1G tournament as they improved to 2-0 against an incredibly tough Michigan squad this season.

While they are now 0-2 against UCLA, Iowa is 1-0 against Ohio State and 0-1 against Minnesota. Their loss to the Golden Gophers was incredibly surprising as it was a rare home loss where they ended up allowing 91 points.

Of the Hawkeyes' six losses, that one to Minnesota was the only one at Carver. They lost to UConn and UCLA at a neutral site and then had road losses at Iowa State, USC, and UCLA.

Iowa is led by sophomore center Ava Heiden, who's averaging 17.4 points per game. Right behind her is senior forward Hannah Stuelke, who is looking to end her collegiate career with the one thing that's eluded her: a National Championship.

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