The second-ranked Iowa wrestling team hosts North Carolina State tonight (Monday) in the inaugural National Duals Championship Series. The Wolkpack may not be thought of as a traditional college wrestling powerhouse, but they’re ranked fourth and have the attention of Iowa coach Tom Brands. “They may be ‘off the radar’ as far as wrestling…believe me, they’re on the radar and we have to be ready to go,” Brands said.

N-C State has four wrestlers ranked in the top five, including two-time NCAA champion Nick Gwiazdowski at heavyweight. Hawkeye (redshirt) freshman Sam Stoll dropped a 10-1 decision to Gwiazdowski in December, but has won 10 matches in a row since, including four wins over ranked opponents. “You know, just because he’s a two-time returning champ, I prepare the same way,” Stoll said. “My mindset has got to be the same every match.”

Formerly the NWCA National Duals Tournament, the 2016 National Duals Championship Series matches the top eight Big Ten programs against regular season champions from other conferences. For that reason, #2 Iowa was not matched-up against #1 Penn State.

Tonight’s dual in Iowa City will start at 7:00. Iowa State received an at-large bid into the National Duals. The Cyclones lost at Minnesota on Friday night, 30-to-10.

(Learfield Sports)

The Iowa women’s basketball team held off a furious second half rally by Indiana to edge the Hoosiers 76-73 in Iowa City, Sunday afternoon. Indiana cut a 19-point second half deficit to one in the waning seconds but the Hawkeyes held on to post their second straight victory. Iowa coach Lisa Bluder says while the Hawkeyes struggled on the glass they did play well on defense.

Ally Disterhoft led five Iowa players in double figures with 19 points as the Hawkeyes improve to 7-9 in the Big Ten and 17-11 overall. The Hawkeyes close out their road schedule on Wednesday night with a visit to Penn State.

(Learfield Sports)

Class 3A Region 8
Regional Final
Pocahontas Area Community(PAC)/Laurens-Marathoon 73, Shenandoah 44
Class 4A Region 1
Regional Semifinal
Harlan 59, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 32
Spencer 55, LeMars 44
Class 4A Region 8
Regional Semifinal
ADM, Adel 39, Dallas Center-Grimes 38
Lewis Central 49, Glenwood 33
Class 5A Region 7
Regional Semifinal
Indianola 96, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 40
Valley, West Des Moines 80, Des Moines, Lincoln 60

State Championship Schedule – Class 3A

Tue., March 1st – Quarterfinals:

PAC (24-0) vs. Mt. Vernon (16-8), 11:45-a.m.

Cherokee (22-2) vs. Osage (21-3), 1:30-p.m.

Center Point-Urbana (23-1) vs. Mid-Prairie (16-8), 3:15-p.m.

Nevada (21-3) vs. Sioux Center (20-4), 5:00-p.m.

AMES, Iowa (AP) – Georges Niang scored 27 points, Abdel Nader had 24 and 13th-ranked Iowa State held off TCU 92-83 on Saturday night to move within a victory of its fifth straight 20-win season. Deonte Burton set season highs with 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Cyclones (19-8, 8-6 Big 12), who never trailed despite playing without center Jameel McKay.

Iowa State went on a 15-6 run to open the second half and weathered a few Horned Frogs runs for its 12th home win this season. McKay, averaging 11.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, didn’t play because of what the Cyclones said was a coach’s decision. Freshman forward JD Miller had 19 points and 11 rebounds for TCU (11-16, 2-12), which remained winless in Big 12 road games. Malique Trent scored 17.

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) – Wes Washpun scored 18 points, Jeremy Morgan added 13, and all five Northern Iowa starters scored in double figures in a 75-66 win over Illinois State Saturday. Paul Jesperson had 12 points while Bennett Koch and Matt Bohannon added 10 apiece for Northern Iowa (16-12, 8-7 Missouri Valley), which bounced back after its six-game win streak was snapped in a loss to Loyola of Chicago on Wednesday.

Northern Iowa led by 14 at halftime but started the second half cold, making 2 of 9 from the field and allowing Illinois State to pull within three, 49-46, with 10:25 left. The Panthers closed with makes on 10 of 13 attempts to stave off a Redbirds comeback in Cedar Falls.