Iowa...The Basketball State

Selection Sunday was quite a day for the state of Iowa. The day started with three bubble teams and ended with all three squads still alive in the final field of 65. Iowa State was thought to have the best chance. In fact their win over Baylor in the first round of the Big 12 tournament pretty much sealed the deal. After starting the conference season with five straight losses, the Cyclones rattled off seven straight conference wins, including four over ranked opponents. But still, you never know.

The Iowa Hawkeyes have been on the bubble for quite some time. The Hawks finished the Big Ten season three games behind Indiana, a team that didn't make the tournament. But they fought their way into the dance. Iowa ran off five wins in their last six games, including a narrow victory over 15th ranked Michigan State. Non-conference wins over ranked teams like Louisville and Texas punched their ticket. Still, a 10-seed was completely unexpected.

And then there's Northern Iowa. The team most of the country thinks is a Division 2 squad. And why not? The Panthers finished fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference. This club played only one ranked team all year, and lost. Still, they did win seven of their last 10 games, and somehow snatched an at-large bid, sneaking in as an 11-seed.

Iowa isn't the first place that comes to mind when thinking of the best basketball states in the nation, but maybe it deserves more respect. After all, here in Minnesota we have only one D-1 team, and they barely snuck in with some late-season wins. Our friends to the south have three D-1 teams and all sneaked in.

Minnesota's only opportunity to regain some respect will be to beat ISU on Friday morning. But that's not likely to happen. More on that tomorrow.