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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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