IOWA VS MINNESOTA GAME THREAD

Iowa wraps up the regular season today with a home game against Minnesota today. There's a lot on the line in this game -- a chance for Iowa to improve their home record to 16-0, a chance to end the season 23-6 overall (14-4 in the Big Ten), a chance to say goodbye* to a tremendous senior class (Samantha Logic, Melissa Dixon, Bethany Doolittle, and Kathryn Reynolds), and of course a chance to get a bit of revenge on the Gophers.  When last Iowa and Minnesota met, Minnesota's star player, Amanda Zahui B., had an absolutely monster performance -- 39 points, 29 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks -- and led Minnesota to a 93-80 win.  Slowing Zahui B. down will be jobs 1, 2, and 3 in this game for Iowa.

One thing that might not be on the line for Iowa in this game is the #2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.  Iowa's definitely the #2 seed if they beat Minnesota (Iowa would be 14-4 in the league, which none of the teams below them could match).  But as reader Mike N. noted, they're probably the #2 seed even if they lose, thanks to tiebreakers.

1) Iowa tied with Northwestern for second place.
- Iowa gets the second seed based on 2-0 record versus NW head-to-head

2) Iowa finishes in a three way tie with Northwestern and Ohio State.
- Iowa gets the second seed based on cumulative head-to-head of being 3-1, with OSU at 2-1, and Northwestern 0-3.

3) Iowa tied with Ohio State for second place.
- Iowa and OSU both 1-1 head-to-head. Goes to next tiebreaker documented in 2 above which matches head-to-head records of both teams versus each team going down the standings. The standings would be:

1. Maryland 18-0, 27-2 (both teams 0-1 vs. Maryland, go to next team)
2. Iowa 13-5, 22-7 (skip)
-. OSU 13-5, 21-9 (skip)
4. Minnesota 12-6, 23-7 (Iowa 0-2 vs. Minn, OSU 0-1 vs. Minn. same pctg, next team)
-. Northwestern 12-6, 22-7 (Iowa 2-0 vs. NW, OSU 1-0 vs. NW, same pctg, next team)
6. Rutgers 12-6 or 11-7, 21-8 or 20-9 (both teams 1-0 vs. Rutgers, go to next team)
7. Nebraska 11-7, 21-9 (Iowa 2-0 vs. Nebraska, Ohio State 1-0 vs. Nebraska, sam pctg, go to next team)
8. Michigan 9-9 or 8-10 (Iowa 1-0 vs. Michigan, Ohio State 1-1 vs. Michigan, IOWA WINS TIEBREAKER HERE)

So that's nice.  But even without the #2 seed on the line, there's plenty for Iowa to play for here.  Let's beat the damn Gophers.

The game tips off at 2 PM CT with TV from BTN (and online coverage from BTN2Go).

The usual rules apply.

* This is Senior Day for Iowa, but it probably won't be the final home game for this group of seniors -- Iowa is in good position to receive a top-4 seed in the NCAA Tournament in a few weeks, which would grant them the ability to host one (or two, with a win in the first game) games at CHA.