NC State Basketball
#10 NC State Women’s Basketball Looks to Take Care of #8 Iowa in Sweet 16 Today. Tune in at 11:30am!
The #3 seeded NC State Women’s Basketball team (28-5) will tipoff against the #2 seed Iowa (28-6) this morning at 11:30am in Greensboro Coliseum on ESPN.
A win by the Wolfpack today would send them to the Elite 8 for the 1st time since 1998, and only the 2nd time EVER. Also, a win today would give NC State 29 wins on the year, tying the 1977-78 team for the most wins in program history.
The Wolfpack and the Hawkeyes are neck-and-neck in the rankings, with Iowa holding a slight advantage. NC State entered the tournament ranked 10th, and Iowa entered at #8. The Wolfpack rank 9th in the RPI, and the Hawkeyes rank 7th. Iowa’s strength of schedule ranks 8th, with NC State’s sitting at #14.
The Wolfpack were successful beating 3 of the 6 teams that beat the Hawkeyes this year.
- Florida State beat Iowa 71-67 on November 24th, and NC State beat the Seminoles 69-62 in the ACC Tournament (also lost to FSU 75-70 on February 5th).
- Michigan State beat Iowa 84-70 on December 30th, and NC State beat the Spartans 78-74 on November 22nd.
- Michigan beat Iowa 90-81 on February 1st, and NC State beat the Wolverines 66-55 on November 29th.
Iowa entered the NCAA Tournament after defeating Maryland in the Big Ten Championship game. Senior Forward Megan Gustafson showed why she was the ESPN National Player of the Year, scoring 45 points in the title game. Gustafson averaged a gaudy 28.0 points and 13.5 rebounds this year, while shooting an insane 70.1% from the field.
The Wolfpack defense has a tall task in stopping the Hawkeyes offensive attack today, but they have been up for the task all year. NC State ranks 20th in field goal percentage defense 35.9%, but Iowa ranks 1st in field goal percentage (52.0%).
Wes Moore and the Lady Wolfpack have defeated the odds all year long. A feather in the hat for the Wolfpack today is the fact that the game is practically a home game for NC State. Make sure to tune in at 11:30am today.