By Susan Harman

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Anxiety is an unwelcome companion during March Madness, but Iowa fans witnessing the Hawkeyes’ narrow victory over West Virginia might have a bit of it in their baggage to Albany, N.Y.

Yes, Iowa has won eight games in a row, including tough outings against Ohio State, Nebraska and the Mountaineers. The Hawkeyes scored 90 or more points in all but the West Virginia game, but in that game they had a six-point quarter and made only 17 baskets overall.

What also showed up during the West Virginia game is a lack of depth. Starters played a minimum of 35 minutes, and Caitlin Clark and Hannah Stuelke barely sat down. Despite a good performance against Holy Cross, reserve post Addie O’Grady played only three minutes as the coaching staff depended on Stuelke to carry the load.

Without Molly Davis the coaches have counted on Kylie Feuerbach and, to a lesser extent, Taylor McCabe to provide relief to the guards. Kylie had a rebound and a steal in 10 minutes.

But before you chomp on your fingernails, consider this. Against Georgia in the second round last year, another nailbiter, the five starters played a minimum of 37 minutes apiece. Clark played 40.

So it’s not ideal, but it’s been done before. Colorado will play eight or nine deep. Against K-State only one Buffalo, post Aaronette Vonleh, played more than 32 minutes. They have extra shooters and extra posts off the bench.

What may be more concerning for Iowa is its perimeter shooting. In the last eight games, all Iowa victories, Clark has shot 43.7 percent from the field in contrast to 47.3 in the other 27 games. She is shooting 36.8 percent behind the arc, compared to 39.3 percent in prior games. Her free-throw shooting has remained stellar, but her turnovers are slightly higher.

The physical wear and tear of 35 games has to be a factor for all the team. But with Clark you also have to consider the magnitude of her celebrity and what that may have cost her in terms of focus and energy.  Her situation is unprecedented, and there’s no way to quantify it.

Iowa’s in a position where it has to get points from all five starters. Kate Martin has been a consistent contributor, and Stuelke is capable of a big game if she stays away from foul trouble and her knee holds up. Gabbie Marshall needs to be Gabbie March-all and hit some threes. Affolter has proven beyond a doubt that she will contribute in multiple ways. And Clark needs to be Clark.

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Buffaloes redux. Seems like Iowa just saw Colorado out in Seattle. But it was exactly a year ago when the Hawkeyes and Buffs met in the Sweet 16 round and Iowa finished with an 87-77 victory.

 You may remember CU’s Frida Formann shooting the lights out in the first half (7-11 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 19 points) before Iowa got a handle on her in the second half and held her to two points. She’s back and shooting 42 percent from 3-point range.  CU added former Michigan shooting guard Maddie Nolan, and she’s shooting 43.5 percent behind the arc.

CU returns 6-foot-3 post players Vonleh and Quay Miller. They are backed up by 6-3 Charlotte Whitaker, who is a large post presence and presents different challenges than the more mobile Vonleh and Miller. Last year O’Grady got more playing time as the reserve behind Monika Czinano than Stuelke, as coach Lisa Bluder said it was a better matchup against the sturdy Vonleh.

Jaylyn Sherrod returns as the point guard, averaging 13 points, and leads the team in assists. She is who really makes this team go. That and its defense.

Colorado returns four starters from last year’s team, and Nolan has fit seamlessly into the fifth spot.

Don’t be fooled by CU’s 5 seed. The Buffs knocked off LSU in their season opener and have wins over K-State (in Manhattan), Stanford and USC. They beat Drake in the first round, 86-72. They were ranked as high as No. 2 part of the season until the powerful Pac-12 took its toll.