The Iowa Hawkeyes women’s basketball team is coming off a Big Ten Tournament victory. In the final, it defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 94-89 after trailing 46-35 at halftime. Caitlin Clark scored 34 points to go with 12 assists and seven rebounds in 44 minutes of action. After selection Sunday, we now know the Hawkeyes are a No. 1 seed alongside South Carolina, Texas, and USC.
Below, we’ll look over Iowa’s overall March Madness odds, Final Four probability, the likelihood Clark captures the 3-point record, and more.
Iowa March Madness odds
Currently, the Hawkeyes are [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”bkw/ncaabw_winner” query=”bkw/iowa” site_id=”legalsportsreport”] to win the NCAA Tournament. They’re second in the odds behind South Carolina, which is at [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”bkw/ncaabw_winner” query=”bkw/south_carolina” site_id=”legalsportsreport”]. They’re just ahead of [metabet_core_dynamic_odds market=”bkw/ncaabw_winner” query=”bkw/lsu” site_id=”legalsportsreport”] LSU, which lost the SEC Tournament championship to South Carolina.
This season, the Hawkeyes went 30-4, losing only to Indiana, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Kansas State. They’ve won six straight games, beating top opponents like Ohio State, Michigan, and, most recently, Nebraska for the Big Ten championship.
[metabet_core_side_odds_tile query=”bkw/iowa” size=”100%x250″ site_id=”legalsportsreport”]
Odds to make the Final Four
Right now, there are no odds for teams to make the Final Four. However, we can look ahead to see which teams Iowa may match up with on the way there. As a projected No. 1 seed, the Hawkeyes are likely to end up in the Albany 2 bracket, just behind South Carolina’s Albany 1. On the way to the Final Four, they’ll play a No. 16 seed, followed by the winner of a No. 8 versus No. 9 game, which could be Florida State versus Alabama.
These games will likely take place in Iowa City, so there’s an edge there for the Hawkeyes. Two wins would put them in the Sweet Sixteen with just two wins to go. Other top seeds they could run into include Oklahoma, Colorado, Notre Dame, Baylor, and UCLA. UCLA profiles as the No. 2 seed and is 25-6 this year, coming off an 80-70 loss to USC.
Caitlin Clark’s 3-point record odds
At DraftKings Sportsbook, there’s a special “record breakers” futures wager on whether Caitlin Clark will break the 3-point record. It reads, “When will Caitlin Clark record her 538th career made 3 pointer?” The odds are as follows:
- WNCAA Tournament Elite Eight game: +200
- Caitlin Clark does not record her 538th career 3 pointer in the 2023-24 season: +220
- WNCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game: +330
- WNCAA Tournament Final Four game: +550
- WNCAA Tournament championship game: +1400
- WNCAA Tournament second round game: +5000
To this point, Clark has made 520 3-pointers in her college career. This season, she’s averaging 13.8 three-point attempts per game and making 5.2, which is a 38.1% rate. She needs 18 3-pointers to break the record, so based on per-game metrics, she could reach this by her fourth game, which would be the Elite Eight.
As mentioned, she’ll likely need to face a No. 16 seed, a No. 8 or No. 9 seed, and then there are multiple combinations regarding her opponent. Of course, Clark and the Hawkeyes need to make it to these games for it to be possible. Based on the odds, though, the Elite Eight looks most likely, and the metrics back that up based on how many she makes per game.
Recapping the Iowa Hawkeyes women’s run
The Hawkeyes women’s team entered the year after losing in the NCAA Tournament championship to LSU last year. Clark has broken the all-time NCAA scoring record and, to this point, has 3,771 total points. Now, as mentioned above, she’s going for the 3-point record. This season, she’s averaging 31.9 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.9 assists per game.
The next top scorer on the team is Hannah Stuelke, with 24.2 points per game and 11.2 rebounds. The Hawkeyes have four losses this season — three on the road and one at home. They have 30 wins after claiming the Big Ten title. That includes six in a row heading into the 2023-24 women’s NCAA Tournament, where they are slated to be a No. 1 seed.
