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A whole lot of basketball fun awaits the people of Iowa this week

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A whole lot of basketball fun awaits the people of Iowa this week


Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke (45) gives fans high-fives as she walks in with her team ahead of last Sunday’s Big Ten women’s basketball tournament championship game at Target Center in Minneapolis. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

Suspense will be in short supply Sunday for four teams from Iowa in regards to the NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball tournaments this week.

That’s a good thing. The Iowa women, Iowa State men and women and Drake men have secured their places in the tourneys. The blanks to be filled, as always, are who they’ll play in the first game and potentially after that.

For three of the four, they’ll also learn where they’re getting sent. The Iowa women know they’ll be at home this week, thus the NCAA knows it will have two days of 15,000 tickets sold.

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The Drake women could be the state’s fifth NCAA qualifier if they beat Missouri State in the Missouri Valley title game today at 1 p.m. (ESPN2).

Here are four questions:

1. How clear is the Iowa women’s path to a second-straight Final Four?

It won’t be clear at all, at least not after the Hawkeyes run a No. 16 seed out of Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the first five minutes of their first-round NCAA tournament game.

Last year, Iowa had just as tough a second-round game in Carver as it did with its regional semifinal and final in Seattle. The Hawkeyes beat a determined Georgia team in Iowa City, 74-66. Iowa led by a point at halftime, and it was close all the way.

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The beauty of a No. 1 seed is, on paper, you’re at least a hair better than everyone in your region. That doesn’t make it true, of course. But it makes hopes for a second-straight Final Four for the Hawkeyes legitimate.

By the way, if you have to ask what the prices at ticket-broker sites are for the two NCAA sessions at Carver, you can’t afford it.

2. Will the Iowa State men get sent to Omaha?

It has to be yes, doesn’t it?

What the Cyclones did for three days in Kansas City was like what few teams have done in a conference tournament stacked with good teams. They beat Kansas State, No. 14 Baylor and No. 1 Houston by an average of 20.3 points.

Iowa State’s 69-41 championship-game win over Houston was mind-blowing. Two of the Cougars’ four losses came from the Cyclones. At a minimumy, Iowa State will be a No. 2 seed Sunday.

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Getting assigned to Omaha for the first week of the NCAA tourney will be quite a perk for the Cyclones and their fans if it happens. If so, get ready to hear CHI Health Center called “Hilton West” about 987 times.

If it’s a 2-seed, Iowa State would play a 15-seed in the first round and the winner of a 7/10 game in Round 2 if it doesn’t get stunned before that. If it’s a 1-seed, it’s a No. 16 and a winner of an 8/9 game.

I fearlessly predict these Cyclones defend better than anyone their 15th-seeded opponents are used to playing in their conference. The ISU guard triad of Tamin Lipsey, Keshon Gilbert and Curtis Jones may be as good as any backcourt group in the entire tournament.

3. Can the Drake men become a national darling in the first week of the tourney?

The answer is yes, with “can” the operative word

The Bulldogs didn’t get to 28-6 and win the Missouri Valley Conference tourney again with a four-leaf clover. They have players. Not just Tucker DeVries, though that’s where it starts.

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If DeVries were playing at Iowa or Iowa State, he’d be a state-wide celebrity. The two-time MVC Player of the Year and two-tme MVC tournament MVP is sixth in the nation in scoring at 21.8 points per game. He also averages 6.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.7 steals.

DeVries should be somewhere on the All-America teams when they are announced.

Bracketologists — and let’s hope they enjoy their 11 months of vacation starting Monday — have Drake as a No. 11 seed.

So let’s say the Bulldogs are in a 6/11 matchup this week. Will there be a sixth seed they can’t beat? Absolutely not. Would there be a No. 3 seed they couldn’t frighten or even defeat in the second round? Nope.

4. Can the Iowa State women reach the second week of the tournament?

It’s very unlikely. The 20-12 Cyclones will be in a coin-flip first-round game, and would meet a giant if they got to the second-round.

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However, the postseason experience will only add to the bright future of the team. I thought the program was coming unglued with all its player defections after last season. The opposite was true.

With three freshmen starting and two others in its rotation, Iowa State reached the Big 12 championship game. Center Audi Crooks could become a national star before she’s done. She averaged 18.9 points as a rookie.

Freshman forward Addy Brown was no slouch herself with 13.1 points, 8.3 rebounds and almost five assists per game.

Senior point guard Emily Ryan recently announced she was coming back for a fifth season, and she’s already the program’s all-time assists leader.

All that said, here’s a safe prediction: An unusually stuffed-with-fun college basketball week is ahead in Iowa.

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Comments: (319) 398-8440; mike.hlas@thegazette.com





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Iowa City police seek help identifying persons of interest in vandalism investigation

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Iowa City police seek help identifying persons of interest in vandalism investigation


IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa City police are asking the public’s help identifying persons of interest connected to a vandalism investigation.

Police said a business was vandalized in the alley behind the 200 block of East Washington Street on Sunday at 2:35 a.m.

Investigators would like to speak with the persons of interest pictured. Police ask anyone who recognizes these individuals to contact them.

Iowa City police are asking the public’s help identifying persons of interest connected to a vandalism investigation. (KCRG)

Anyone with information or security camera footage of the incident should contact the Iowa City Police Department at 319-356-5275. Iowa City Area Crime Stoppers is also offering a reward up to $1,000 for information that leads to an arrest.

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Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.



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The ‘What Ifs’ of 2025-26 for Iowa State athletics | Hines

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The ‘What Ifs’ of 2025-26 for Iowa State athletics | Hines


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Spring commencement arrives at Iowa State this weekend, with a whole new generation of Cyclones set to get their diplomas and move on to the next things in their lives. 

The options and choices will set their path for, potentially, the years and decades ahead. 

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Which got me thinking about the choices and circumstances of this school year that came for Iowa State athletics. There were no shortages of inflection points at which, it seems, programs and an entire athletics department pivoted to new directions. 

Let’s explore. 

What if Iowa State had hired Taylor Mouser as head football coach? 

This seems to be the most discussed “Sliding Doors” moment for Iowa State football fans regarding head coach Matt Campbell’s departure to Penn State. And with good reason. It’s the most obvious, could have had the most immediate impact on the program and would have been largely seen as a continuation of the most successful run in school history. 

Would promoting the Iowa State offensive coordinator, though, have been the right move? 

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If you assume a best-case scenario in which some of the star Cyclone players on offense – think Rocco Becht, Ben Brahmer, Carson Hansen, etc. – stay at Iowa State and a bulk of the coaching staff does as well, there are still likely defections that weaken the roster. Nothing like we saw back in December, but, still, there would be holes – and Campbell’s shoes – to fill by a first-time head coach taking over for a legend. 

The calculation, as I see it, has to be – does the Year 1 continuity and relative stability gained by hiring Mouser provide for better long-term results than hiring Jimmy Rogers, who has the benefit of head-coaching experience? 

It certainly would have made the fan base feel better back in December, but would it have positioned Iowa State to have better results in 2027 and beyond? 

The roster almost certainly would have been “better” in 2026 if Iowa State retained Mouser, but would that have created a more solid foundation for the future or just delayed decay? 

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This “What If” becomes a lot less intricate and interesting if Rogers just wins a ton this fall and going forward. 

What if Penn State had been able to hire Kalani Sitake as its football coach? 

I think this is the most interesting question on the list. 

By reports, Penn State was on the verge of hiring Sitake from BYU when the Cougars’ boosters – led by the Crumbl Cookie fortune – banded together to put together a financial package to keep Sitake in Provo. 

What if they hadn’t, though? 

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Sitake goes to Penn State, and Dec. 5, 2025, is an uneventful day in Iowa State history rather than one of its most feverish. 

But … what happens a few weeks later when Sherrone Moore is fired at Michigan? 

Rather than plucking 66-year-old Kyle Whittingham from Utah/forced retirement, do the Wolverines try to make a Michigan Man out of an Ohioan? Does Campbell inherit the seat of Bo Schembechler? 

And, for the sake of this thought exercise, if Campbell did move to Ann Arbor, does the timing of that decision change athletics director Jamie Pollard’s options and calculus about Iowa State’s opening? Is Jimmy Rogers still available? Or would he have taken a different opening or opted not to leave Pullman at that later date? Is Mouser the answer in this scenario? 

Or is the Buckeye State distaste for the state Up North too much and Campbell returns for Year 11 at Iowa State? 

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Addy Brown on what went wrong in Iowa State’s loss to Syracuse

Iowa State’s Addy Brown talks about her team’s struggles in a loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament.

What if Addy Brown doesn’t get hurt? 

Iowa State women’s basketball was 14-0 on Jan. 4 when it played Baylor in Waco, and the season felt sure to realize the potential that was clear before it started with one of coach Bill Fennelly’s best rosters. 

The Cyclones, though, returned home with their first loss and with Addy Brown sidelined with a back injury. 

Four more losses in a row followed, and when Brown returned to the floor after six weeks, the Cyclones’ season was floundering. 

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They salvaged an NCAA Tournament bid, but a first-round exit gave way to a roster collapse with nine players – including Brown and superstar Audi Crooks – leaving via the transfer portal, putting Fennelly’s tenure and future under fire. 

If Brown doesn’t get hurt – or just isn’t out as long – does that change the trajectory of the season? The offseason? And what the eventual end of Fennelly’s Iowa State career looks like? 

What if Joshua Jefferson doesn’t roll his ankle? 

The most recent “What If” I think is also the most straightforward. 

If Jefferson’s ankle doesn’t roll in the early minutes of Iowa State’s first-round NCAA Tournament blowout win over Tennessee State, I think the Cyclones get a long second weekend in Chicago, but the Final Four drought probably remains intact. 

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Jefferson’s rebounding and offensive impact are, I think, enough to give the Cyclones the edge against Tennessee, but Michigan, the Cyclones’ would-be Elite Eight opponent, was just a juggernaut.

I’m not sure even a full-strength Iowa State team would have had more than a puncher’s chance. The Wolverines were just one of the best college basketball teams we’ve seen over the last few decades. 

Iowa State columnist Travis Hines has covered the Cyclones for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune since 2012. Contact him at thines@amestrib.com or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.



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Top Iowa High School Football Prospect Makes His Decision

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Top Iowa High School Football Prospect Makes His Decision


One of the top Iowa high school football prospects in the state has made his college decision official.

Iowa City Regina High School senior-to-be Tate Wallace has announced he has verbally committed to the University of Minnesota in the Big Ten Conference. Wallace picked the Golden Gophers and head coach PJ Fleck over a finalists Notre Dame, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State and Wisconsin.

Wallace narrowed down his list of schools to six at the end of April before making his final decision.

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Iowa City Regina Football Standout Tate Wallace Ranked As No. 2 Overall Prospect In Iowa High School Football

The 6-foot-2, 226-pound linebacker is considered the No. 2 overall prospect in the state of Iowa for high school football, and is the No. 21 linebacker in the Class of 2027, according to 247Sports.

In the 247Sports Composite rankings, Wallace is No. 2 in Iowa high school football, No. 29 at linebacker and No. 359 for the Class of 2027.

Along With Minnesota, Tate Wallace Currently Holds Offers From Schools Such As Arizona, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Iowa State

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Wallace currently holds 16 total offers including from the previously mentioned Minnesota, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Kansas State, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio), Toledo, UNLV, North Dakota and North Dakota State.

As a junior, Wallace registered almost 50 tackles on defense, with 29 of them being counted as solo stops. He had 18 tackles for loss, 8.5 quarterback sacks and forced two fumbles, as Iowa City Regina advanced to the state championship game of the Iowa High School Athletic Association State Football Championships.

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Future Minnesota Golden Gopher Has Been Key Two-Way Starter For Regals

Wallace also hauled in 40 passes for 611 yards with 10 receiving touchdowns on offense for the Regals. As a two-way player for Iowa City Regina during his sophomore season, Wallace had 27.5 tackles, including 16 solo stops, four tackles for loss and a quarterback sack, adding 51 receptions for 752 yards and eight touchdowns.

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Back in March, Wallace announced seven spring visits to Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas State and Arizona State. He also visited Tennessee this past fall, taking in an SEC contest with the Volunteers.

Along with his success on the football field, Wallace helped lead the Regals to the Iowa High School Athletic Association Boys State Basketball Tournament this past winter. He earned High School on SI all-state honors in the process.

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