INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – For the 22^nd time in school history, the Iowa State men’s basketball team has earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Cyclones have reached nine NCAA Tournaments since 20212, one of 10 teams in the field this year to do so.

Iowa State (19-13, 9-9 Big 12) earned a No. 6 seed in the Midwest Region and will face the winner of a First Four game on Friday, March 17, in Greensboro, N.C. No. 11 seeds Mississippi State (21-12, 8-10 SEC) and Pittsburgh (22-11, 14-6 ACC) will face each other Wednesday, March 15, in a First Four game in Dayton, Ohio. Game time and TV information will be announced by the NCAA later tonight.

In his second season as head coach of the team, T.J. Otzelberger is the third coach in school history to take a team to the NCAA Tournament in his first two years at the helm. Otzelberger will be making his fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament, as he also led South Dakota State to the 2017 and 2018 tournaments.

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa received an at-large berth to the 2023 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, its 29th appearance in the tournament, including its seventh under head coach Fran McCaffery.

Iowa (19-13) received a No. 8 seed (seeded No. 32 overall) and will play ninth-seeded Auburn (20-12) on Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama, in the Midwest Region. Game time and television information will be released tonight. Thursday will be the first meeting all-time between the Hawkeyes and Tigers.

Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl served as an assistant coach at Iowa from 1986-92 and Iowa assistant coach Matt Gatens served on Pearl’s staff at Auburn from 2017-19. 

The other two teams in Iowa’s first-weekend bracket are top-seeded Houston (31-3) and No. 16 seed Northern Kentucky (22-12).

Information on pre-tournament news conferences and open practice times will be released on Monday.

The Iowa State women won the Big 12 Tournament for the first time since 2001. The Cyclones outscored 15th ranked Texas 21-12 in the third quarter to beat the Longhorns 61-51 in Kansas City.

That’s ISU coach Bill Fennelly. The Cyclones held Texas to 24 second half points and pulled away for the win.

Ashley Joens scored 28 points and had 10 rebounds in being named the tournament most outstanding player.

The Drake Bulldogs defeated the Belmont Bruins 89-71 on Sunday to win the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Bulldogs won the tournament title for the first time since 2018.

Maggie Bair had 19 points, 15 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 9 assists to lead the Bulldogs. Anna Miller added 15 points and Grace Berg dropped in 14.

Drake made 18 of 19 free throws led by Katie Dinnebier’s 13 of 14 effort. The Bulldogs are headed back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. Drake improved to 22-9.

Belmont saw their 16-game win streak snapped and fell to 23-11 on the season.

Drake drew a 12-seed for the NCAA Tournament and will face 5th-seeded Louisville in their opening game. Drake will play in Austin, TX at the University of Texas’ Moody Center.

The Iowa State women’s basketball team out-dueled Oklahoma to reach the Big 12 Tournament Championship on Saturday. The Cyclones outscored the Sooners 24-14 in the third quarter to take command of the game.

Ashley Joens led the way with 22 points and 8 rebounds. Lexi Donarski dropped in 20 points and Nyamer Diew splashed in 19.

The Cyclones improved to 21-9 and moved on to face Texas in the Big 12 Tournament Championship game on Sunday.