(Radio Iowa) – Today (Friday) marks the start of one of the most troublesome months of the year for people with a gambling addiction. Katie Bee is problem gambling services project director at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services. Bee says March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

Bee says problem gambling is a behavioral pattern that damages personal, family or work relationships, and it carries significant societal and economic costs.

There are many types of problem gambling, which may be prompted by lottery and scratch-off games, sweepstakes, betting at tracks, casinos or online.

Studies find about 14-percent of Iowans — or 315-thousand adults — are at-risk for a gambling-related problem. Iowans with gambling concerns can call 1-800-BETS-OFF or visit yourlifeiowa.org.

The eighth ranked Iowa State men are on the road in the Big-12 tomorrow (Saturday) to visit Central Florida. The Cyclones are second in the conference standings at 11-4. UCF is 6-9 in the league race.

That’s ISU coach T.J. Otzelberger who says success on the road always begins on defense.

The Riverside Lady Bulldogs ended their season with a 61-45 loss to the Stanton Viqueens in the second round of the Class 1A – Region 5 bracket. The Bulldogs were led in scoring that game by freshman Kayden Schnack with 13 points.

The Bulldogs were led in scoring by junior Elly Henderson who had 152 points and averaged 7 points per game this season.

Bulldog coach Mitch Rice had this to say to his team in the locker room after their loss to Stanton this post season.

Coach Rice is really excited for this and next year’s freshman class coming in.

Coach Rice talked about the great play by Bulldog top scorer junior Ella Henderson.

Coach Rice looking forward to see what Ella Henderson and Sophia Taylor can bring to the table in their senior seasons next year.

Coach Rice says it was a really tough Western Iowa Conference this season.

Coach Rice complimented Bulldog fan base for coming out to support his team in their game in their first round post season game against Boyer Valley.

Former Iowa star Cooper DeJean is at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis but is not working out and is just meeting with teams. The All American defensive back and punt returner missed the final month of the season after suffering a leg injury in practice before the home finale against Illinois.

DeJean says the injury made the decision to leave even more difficult.

DeJean broke his fibula in practice while taking snaps on offense.

(Radio Iowa) – The scoreboards and video systems at Iowa State University’s major sports venues are going to get an update.  I-S-U’s Heather Davis presented the proposal the Board of Regents approved at their meeting Wednesday.

Davis says replacing all of the systems makes the most sense.

She says it also allows them to recognize economies of scale by purchasing all the systems at once. Davis says it will take some time to complete all the updates.

The project is expected to cost around 16 million dollars.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – The University of Iowa police department is warning Hawkeye fans to be aware of ticket and merchandise scams. Officers say most scams happen through social media and instant messaging sites. They say fans should only buy from officials sources – including the Universities ticket office and their ticketing partner SeatGeek. Don’t share sensitive information with strangers.

Don’t believe ticket prices that are ‘too good to be true’. And report any suspected scams.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Six University of Iowa wrestlers are ranked in the top 10 of the NCAA coaches’ poll, which was released Thursday by the NCAA.

The coaches’ rankings are determined by a vote of 14 coaches in each weight class with two head coaches from each of the seven conferences.

At 125, Drake Ayala is the top-ranked Iowa wrestler at No. 2 in the poll. Ayala is 19-3 overall this season with 10 wins against ranked opponents. Senior Real Woods is next for the Hawkeyes, ranked third at 141. Woods is 14-2 this season.

Nine total Hawkeyes are ranked across the 10 weights.

The NCAA also released its pre-allocations for the 20202423 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, hosted in Kansas City, Missouri, from March 21-23. The Big Ten Conference was awarded 85 of the 283 automatic qualifying bids.

The Big Ten Championships take place March 9-10 in College Park, Maryland. The weight class conference champion in each qualifying tournament will earn an automatic berth to the national championships.

NCAA championship spots for each qualifying event will be awarded at conference tournaments based solely on place-finish.

The NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 47 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 12, while brackets and seeding will be announced on NCAA.com at 8 p.m. (CT) on March 13. All weight classes will consist of 33 wrestlers.

Full rankings and tournament allocation information below.

Hawkeyes in the 2024 Coaches Poll

125 – Drake Ayala #2

133 – Brody Teske #25

141 – Real Woods #3

149 – Caleb Rathjen #8

157 – Jared Franek #5

165 – Michael Caliendo #6

174 – Patrick Kennedy #6

197 – Zach Glazier #11

285 – Bradley Hill #33

Class 3A

#1 Estherville Lincoln Central 45, #4 Mount Vernon 37
#3 Solon 49, #2 Des Moines Christian 25

Class 4A

#1 Clear Creek Amana 50, #5 North Polk 48
#2 Waverly-Shell Rock 41, #3 Bishop Heelan 37

Class 5A

#1 Johnston 74, #4 Waukee 33
#3 Dowling Catholic 59, #7 Cedar Falls 48

The Drake women are on the doorstep of a Missouri Valley Conference championship. The Bulldogs outscored Illinois-Chicago 21-11 in the second quarter and raced away to an 84-63 victory in the Knapp Center. Drake is a win away from clinching at least a share of its first Valley regular season title since 2019.

That’s Drake coach Allison Pohlman. The Bulldogs shot 58 percent for the game, inclluding nine of 20 from three point range.

Katie Dinnebier scored 18 points and Grace Berg added 17 as the Bulldogs improved to 16-1 in the Valley.

Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark is entering the WNBA Draft. Todd Kimm reports.