In its first season of Conference membership, Houston has captured the 2023-24 Big 12 men’s basketball regular season title and earned the top seed in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship March 12-16 in Kansas City’s T-Mobile Center.

The No. 1-nationally-ranked Cougars won the regular season by two games, finishing at 15-3. Heading into postseason, UH is 28-3 overall with a nine-game win streak. Houston is also the top-ranked team in the NET, Ken Pom and ESPN Power Index metrics. The Cougars went undefeated at home this year with a 17-0 mark and are currently 5-1 vs. Top 25 opponents. This marks the second Big 12 regular season title for Houston coach Kelvin Sampson who won a share of the 2004-05 championship while serving as head coach at Oklahoma.

Iowa State claimed the No. 2 seed in the Championship followed by No. 3 Baylor and No. 4 Texas Tech. The top four seeds earn a double bye and begin play in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 14. The next six highest seeds are No. 5 BYU, No. 6 Kansas, No. 7 Texas, No. 8 TCU, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 10 Kansas State. They received a first-round bye and commence action on Wednesday, March 13.

The two first round games on Tuesday, March 12 will feature No. 12 UCF vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State at 11:30 a.m. CT followed by No. 11 Cincinnati vs. No. 14 West Virginia at 2 p.m. CT.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The University of Iowa softball team dropped both games of a doubleheader against Santa Clara on day two of the Silicon Valley Classic. They Hawkeyes fell in game one, 4-2, before dropping game two, 3-2.

Freshman Soo-Jin Berry led Iowa with going 3-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored in the doubleheader

UP NEXT         

The Hawkeyes close out the weekend on Sunday as they are set to face LMU at Noon CT at Stanford University.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The second-ranked University of Iowa women’s wrestling team finished the 2024 National Collegiate Women’s Wrestling Tournament with six champions and 10 All-Americans. The Hawkeyes brought home the team title with 204 total points.

At 101, the Hawkeye pair of No. 1 Emilie Gonzalez and No. 2 Sterling Dias faced off in the championship bout. The two fought all the way to the end, keeping it a close matchup the whole six minutes. In the end, Gonzalez came out on top with a 4-0 decision, earning the first national title for the program.

Second-ranked Ava Bayless followed, also keeping a close match against Lock Haven’s No. 4 Kaelani Shufeldt. The redshirt freshman brought home her first title after defeating Shufeldt via decision, 2-, at 109.

Hawkeyes met again for an all-Iowa finals match at 116, with No. 3 Brianna Gonzalez facing No. 4 Felicity Taylor. With a tough battle back and forth, Taylor capped off her senior season with the title, defeating Gonzalez via decision, 9-2.

At 143, second-ranked Reese Larramendy came out hot in her match against King’s No. 6 Aine Drury, picking up the first pin for Iowa in the finals. After running through the tournament finishing every match with a tech. fall, the redshirt freshman decided to finish her season with a fall in 4:10 over Drury.

Defending National Champion, Marlynne Deede captured her second title, and first as a Hawkeye. At 155, the top-ranked senior took the, 9-3, decision over No. 2 Cheyenne Bowman of King.

With Iowa leading by just .5 points as a team, Kylie Welker took it into her own hands to finish the job at 170. Welker shut the door with an, 11-0, tech. fall over No. 2 Yelena Makoyed of North Central to clinch the national title for both herself and the team.

All six national champions also secured a spot at the 2024 Olympic Team Trials next month at Penn State University.

COLLEGE PARK, Maryland – Zach Glazier advanced to the Big Ten Championship finals and five Hawkeyes remain alive on the backside for the University of Iowa men’s wrestling team after Session II of the 2024 Big Ten Championships at the Xfinity Center.

“We have another day tomorrow,” said head coach Tom Brands. “We have another day, position yourselves for the future. This is the qualifier, it is a very important event, we have another day, have to position yourselves the best you can.”

The No. 3 seed at 197-pounds Glazier won his semifinal match against No. 2 seed Jaxon Smith with a takedown in sudden victory to punch his ticket to the Big Ten finals.

“He came through for us tonight,” said Brands. “He wrestled a smart and patient match. Sometimes guys are slippery like that. We saw what that guy did in quarterfinals in overtime. Smart match.

The Hawkeyes dropped semifinal bouts at 133, 141, 157, 165 and 174.

At 125 on the consolation side of the bracket No. 2 seed Drake Ayala pinned No. 8 seed Brendan McCrone of Ohio State in 1:46 before winning an 8-1 decision over Wisconsin’s Eric Barnett.

At 149, Caleb Rathjen also tallied two wins on the backside defeating No. 12 seed Braden Stauffenberg of Michigan State, 8-1, and No. 7 seed Joseph Zargo of Wisconsin, 7-2.

Bradley Hill won two consolation bouts at 285. The No. 7 seed defeated No. 9 seed Josh Terrill of Michigan State by major decision, 11-0 and six seed Nick Willham via decision, 4-2.

Team Standings Through Session II

1               Penn State        136.0

2               Michigan             105.5

3               Nebraska           89.0

4               Iowa                        88.5

5               Ohio State         78.5

6               Rutgers                71.5

7               Minnesota         66.0

8               Wisconsin         43.0

9               Purdue                 36.0

10            Maryland            31.0

11            Indiana                 29.0

12            Illinois                   28.0

13            Michigan St.      19.5

14            Northwestern    14.5

NORMAN, Okla. – Iowa State (9-12, 0-2 Big 12) dropped a pair of games Saturday afternoon to No. 1 Oklahoma (21-1, 2-0 Big 12) at the recently opened Love’s Field.

After inclement weather forced Friday’s game to be pushed to Sunday, the two teams squared off in a doubleheader to kick off the Big 12 Conference slate.

The Sooners took both games on the day, winning game one by four and game two by nine.

Alesia Ranches was the lone Cyclone to notch multiple hits on the day, registering one in both contests. Ranches also drove in both runs for the Cyclones in game number two’s first inning.

Four different pitchers saw action for ISU, as the team limited OU’s dangerous offense to just four runs in the first game before the Sooner bats found their stride in game two, scoring 11

On Deck

The Cyclones will be back at Love’s Field tomorrow, March 10, to take on the Sooners in the weekend series finale. Sunday’s first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the contest will be streamed live on ESPN+.

BOSTON – University of Iowa junior Rivaldo Marshall became Iowa’s first 800-meter national champion on Saturday during the final day of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The men’s team placed ninth with 21 team points, marking the second-highest finish in program history. Iowa placed eighth in 2011 at the indoor national meet.

Marshall was one of seven Hawkeyes to earn indoor All-American honors, including three first-team members. Marshall clocked a 1:46.96, just one-tenth of a second behind his own school record set earlier this season at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 10.

A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Marshall is the first Iowa men’s track and field athlete to win a national championship since 1998, when Bashir Yamini won gold in the indoor long jump.

Yamini and Marshall combine for the two indoor event national titles in men’s program history. Marshall is the 11th individual male athlete from Iowa to win a national championship, earning the 14th title in men’s program history.

Laulauga Tausaga won Iowa’s most recent national championship in 2019, winning the discus title outdoors. The Hawkeye women and men combine for 18 total event national championships and five indoor event titles. Kineke Alexander won Iowa’s most recent indoor championship in 2006 with a victory in the 400 meters.

Marshall was an NJCAA Indoor National Champion in the 800 meters last year for Indian Hills.

This season, Marshall was the USTFCCCA men’s athlete of the week on Dec. 13 for his facility-record performance (1:47.83) at the Jimmy Grant Invitational. Marshall placed fifth in the 800 meters at the Big Ten Championships last time out (1:49.32), where he also anchored the Iowa 4×400-meter relay team to a third place conference finish (3:07.48).

Marshall headlines an Iowa class of seven indoor All-Americans. Iowa now combines for 109 indoor All-Americans and 479 total All-Americans across both the men’s and women’s program.

Senior Kalen Walker placed second in the 60-meter dash, racing 6.59 to finish one-hundredth of a second ahead of Texas Tech’s Don’dre Swint in third place. Walker was, himself, just five-hundredths of a second behind event champion Terrence Jones.

Walker entered the weekend as a two-time All-American second teamer. Walker placed 13th at indoor nationals in 2022 with a 6.64, and was also a second-team All-American as part of Iowa’s outdoor school-record 4×400-meter relay team last season.

The Eddyville, Iowa, native was also runner-up at the Big Ten Championships this season. Walker’s 6.51 time in the prelims at the conference meet set the Hawkeye program record.

Senior Austin West rounded out Iowa’s group of first-team All-Americans, placing sixth in the men’s heptathlon. West finished with 5,900 points, just 75 points shy of his PR and 447 points back from first place.

Competing in the triple-jump, freshman Daniela Wamokpego finished 15th with a jump of 12.66 meters (41’ 6.5”).

Iowa had three second-team All-Americans on Friday in long jumper Tionna Tobias, along with 60-meter hurdlers Grant Conway and Paige Magee.

UP NEXT

Iowa races into outdoor season at the USF Alumni Invitational on March 15-16 in Tampa, Florida.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – Drake women’s basketball wrapped up their 2023-24 regular season slate with a lopsided victory on the road at Indiana State on Saturday. The Bulldogs got help from their entire roster and were led by Anna Miller’s historic showing in a 96-64 triumph, their 11th in a row, over the Sycamores of Indiana State.

With the win, Drake ended the regular season with records of 26-5 overall and 19-1 in MVC play. The 19 league marked the first time in Valley men’s and women’s hoops history that a team was won 19 or more game in a season.

Anna Miller banked in the game’s first basket after a quick dish from Katie Dinnebier. The Bulldogs’ point guard followed suit with two of her own on Drake’s next trip down the floor after a Grace Berg assist. Dinnebier later added another point at the line.

Both the Bulldogs and Sycamores (10-20, 6-14) suffered scoreless droughts for over the next two minutes until Taylor McAulay dropped in two free throws for her first points of the day. Both teams also could not dial in from deep with six misses in as many attempts. Dinnebier snapped the cold three-point shooting streak with a triple in transition just after the first media break. Miller then gave the Bulldogs their first double-digit lead of the game at 16-6 after curling around a screen and going off glass.

The Bulldogs had an answer for every Indiana State score as time ticked down in the first quarter. Drake doubled up the Sycamores and led 20-10 after the first 10 minutes. Despite leading at the pause, the Dogs trailed 13-6 on the glass.

Miller led the charge again in the second quarter with a dozen points in the period. She also made history in the second stanza, becoming the 37th player in program history to score over 1,000 career points and joined Dinnebier and Berg as active Bulldogs in the 1,000-point club. Miller led Drake on Saturday with a career high 25 points.

Indiana State was able to trim their deficit down into single digits at nine as Drake’s offense fell out of tempo. The Sycamores battled but still trailed at the half as Drake produced enough stops down the stretch and led 38-25 at the midway point.

The Bulldogs continued to ride the excellent play of forward Anna Miller as the second half progressed. The Rochester, Minn. native snagged her 10th rebound of the outing in the quarter to reach her 15th double-double of the year. She finished with a game-high 14 rebounds.

Drake led by 20 with a quarter to play did not let up in the fourth. The offensive explosion was punctuated by a corner three from Hannah Nilges and a deuce from Emily Christenson, her first basket of the season. The Bulldogs left Terre Haute with a 96-64 victory.

Three more Bulldogs scored in double figures including Grace Berg with 16, Katie Dinnebier with 13, and Ashley Iiams with a career high 11. Dinnebier also dished out a game-best eight assists.

As a team, the Bulldogs scored 60 points in the paint, the most in a single game this season. Drake also overcame their earlier rebounding deficit to win the war on the boards, 47-31

Drake will start postseason play this coming week at the MVC Tournament in Moline, Ill. The top-seeded Bulldogs’ Hoops in the Heartland title defense will tip off on Friday, Mar. 14 against the winner of the first-round tilt between No. 8 Southern Illinois and No. 9 Indiana State.

Class 1A – Substate 1

Ross Kusel, IKM-Manning – Sr.

Class 1A – Substate 7

Cale Peterman, Bedford – Jr.

Gabe Funk, Lenox – Jr.

Class 1A – Substate 8

Cal Heydon, Coon Rapids-Bayard – So.

Carter Gruver, Woodbine – Jr.

Grady Jeppesen, Riverside – Sr.

Cash Emgarten, Exira-EHK – Sr.

Aiden Flathers, Exira-EHK – Sr.

Kyle Bartles – Woodside – Coach of the Year

Class 2A – Substate 7

Jace Tarns, Treynor – Sr.

Ethan Konz, Treynor – Sr.

Max DeVries, Red Oak – Sr.

Scott Rucker, Treynor – Coach of the Year

Class 2A – Substate 8

Mason Boothby, Underwood – Sr.

Jack Vanfossan, Underwood – Sr.

Brad Blum, Underwood – Coach of the Year

Class 3A – Substate 1

Nash Paulson, Lewis Central – Sr.

Class 3A – Substate 8

Colton Rassmussen, Atlantic – Sr.

Evan Hammer, Carroll – Sr.

Luke Wiebers, Dennison-Schleswig – Sr.

Class 4A – Substate 2

Jayden Calabro, Council Bluffs-Thomas Jefferson – Sr.

Donnie Johnson, Council Bluffs-Thomas Jefferson -Coach of the Year

MINNEAPOLIS — The second-seeded and third-ranked University of Iowa women’s basketball team defeated sixth-seeded Michigan, 95-68, inside a sold-out Target Center on Saturday afternoon to advance to the Big Ten Tournament Championship for the fourth consecutive year. Iowa completes the season sweep over the Wolverines and have scored 90+ against Michigan five straight times dating back to 2022.

Four starters finished in double figures with All-American Caitlin Clark registering game highs in points (28) and assists (15), while also snagging four rebounds. Clark’s 15 dimes are third most in a Big Ten Tournament game (Clark had 17 versus Ohio State last March). Hannah Stuelke made all seven field-goal attempts to finish with 16 points. Sydney Affolter added 12 points with seven rebounds and a career-high eight assists in her fifth career start, while Kate Martin tallied 13 points and six boards

The Hawkeyes started the game in control while maintaining the lead through the first five minutes. The Wolverines sank all six 3-point attempts, going on a 10-0 run before Stuelke snapped the streak with a bucket in the paint. Gabbie Marshall sunk a triple at the buzzer to bring Michigan’s lead to three going into the second quarter.

Iowa responded in the second quarter by outscoring the Wolverines, 29-17. The Hawkeyes shot 70.6 percent from the field in the half to go into the break with a 51-42 advantage. Clark tallied 19 points and 11 assists in the first half to gather her 63rd double-double in the first 15 minutes of the contest.

In the third, the Hawkeyes outrebounded the Wolverines ,14-8, while holding them to one triple in the quarter. Out of a timeout with 7:35 to play in the fourth quarter, McCabe, Martin, and Marshall netted back-to-back-to-back threes to stretch Iowa’s lead to 31 points, its largest of the game.

Iowa dominated the Wolverines in the post, outscoring Michigan 54-16 in the paint. The Hawkeyes finished with 30 assists, breaking the Big Ten Tournament single game record.

ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER RECORD FALLS
Clark’s third free throw made broke the Big Ten’s career free throws made record, previously held by Purdue’s Shereka Wright. Clark has sank 778 free throws in her four-year career.

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will challenge Nebraska on Sunday at 11 a.m. (CT) in the championship of the Big Ten Tournament. The game will air on CBS, and the Hawkeye Radio Network.