Iowa Women's Basketball Given Favorable March Madness Projection

Charlie Creme is in charge of ESPN's women's bracketology, which was just updated for their way too soon 2026 NCAA Tournament projections. When it comes to HC Jan Jensen's Iowa Hawkeyes, Creme sees a bright future for this young team. Led by a dominant senior forward, Iowa looks to make this October projection become a reality by tournament time.

"When we last forecasted the bracket in April, the UConn Huskies had just been crowned champions and the transfer portal was winding down with most players already having picked their destinations," Creme wrote. "Even if some rosters haven't changed since then, the evaluations of them continue -- so, with a month before the 2025-26 season opens, here is a fresh look at what March might look like."

To no surprise, UConn is projected to be the top overall seed. The Huskies are set to play Iowa on December 20, a game that could be a tournament preview. At this point in time, Creme has Iowa as the No. 5 seed in Region 1 - Fort Worth. The No. 1 seed in that region? UConn.

NEW:

The first ESPN WBB Bracketology projection has Iowa WBB as a 5 seed.

An incredible 18 opponents (19 games) projected in the initial field. pic.twitter.com/O7UYS6xid0
— Kyle Huesmann (@HuesmannKyle) October 4, 2025

Iowa drawing a No. 5 seed would allow them to play No. 12 Belmont. Below Iowa sits the No. 4 seed, Louisville. Louisville drew No. 13 James Madison, but both the Hawkeyes and Cardinals saw an increase in their March Madness seeds. Rounding out the top half of Region 1 is No. 16 Texas Southern or Fairleigh Dickinson, No. 8 Miami, and No. 9 Nebraska.

The only team in Region 1 to drop down a seed was No. 6 Vanderbilt. Assuming Iowa took their place, that avoids them a game against No. 11 Columbia or George Mason. Their second round opponent likely would've been No. 3 Maryland, who should handle No. 14 Chattanooga with ease. Tennessee is the No. 2 seed in the bottom of Region 1.

In total, 13 Big Ten teams are projected to make the tournament. Jensen clearly has her work cut out for her as that's a clear indication how tough conference play will be this season. Iowa's Big 10 opener is on December 6 when they play at Rutgers. They will have three more non-conference games after that game before their December 28 game against Penn State rounds out the rest of their schedule which features only Big 10 opponents.

Last season, Iowa finished 10-8 in conference. Knowing USC will be without JuJu Watkins, it's going to be extremely difficult for them to once again top the conference with their 17-1 record.

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!