Iowa women will host Ball State in WNIT on Thursday
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa women’s basketball team was so close to making the NCAA Tournament for a ninth consecutive season.
How close?
It was revealed shortly after the women’s field was announced on Monday that Iowa was among the first four teams out of the tournament.
This will mark the first time since 2007 that Iowa will not compete in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Lisa Bluder. The Hawkeyes were denied a bid after finishing the regular season and the Big Ten Tournament with a 19-13 record, including 8-10 in the conference.
"The committee had to look at them collectively and looking across all the factors that we consider and decide who were the teams that deserved to be in the field," said Chris Dawson, Chairman of the Women’s Selection Committee.
The Hawkeyes gained a consolation prize by receiving a bid to the National Invitation Tournament later on Monday. Iowa will face Ball State on Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Drake and Northern Iowa also will compete in the WNIT.
Iowa entered this season as the only team in the Big Ten, and one of 10 in NCAA Division I women’s basketball, to qualify for the NCAA Tournament in each of the last eight years. There are 349 Division I teams.
This will be Iowa’s 15th postseason appearances (12 NCAA and three WNIT) under Bluder, who is in her 16th season as head coach.
This also marks the first time since 2003 that the state of Iowa will not have at least one of its four women’s teams competing in the NCAA Tournament.