Bring on the pressure, right? The preseason AP Top 25 for women's basketball is out and the 2022-23 Iowa Hawkeyes are flying high (VERY high) in that poll on the cusp of the new season.
@AP_Top25 x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/V3cgAgAwS8
— Iowa Women's Basketball (@IowaWBB) October 18, 2022
That's #4 overall, behind only South Carolina (#1), Stanford (#2), and Texas (#3). Welcome to the big time, Hawks.
This is the second-straight season that Iowa has been ranked in the preseason Top 10 by the AP -- they were 9th last year. Before that Iowa was last ranked in the preseason Top 10 in 1997, when they were 6th. Iowa's #4 preseason ranking is their highest preseason ranking under Lisa Bluder and their highest preseason ranking since a #3 ranking in 1994 (which was also their highest-ever preseason ranking).
Other notable teams in this year's preseason Top 25:
- Possible three non-conference opponents: UConn (#6), NC State (#10), and Iowa State (#8) -- and Duke, the team Iowa will play in their second game in the Phil Knight Legacy Tournament if they don't face UConn was among the "others receiving votes" teams
- Five other Big Ten teams: Indiana (#11), Ohio State (#14), Maryland (#17), Nebraska (#22), and Michigan (#25)
Iowa has eight games this year against those ranked Big Ten teams, including four of their final six games in the regular season.
A ranking like this puts a very big target on Iowa's back for the entire season -- they're going to get everyone's best shot. Can Lisa Bluder, Caitlin Clark, Monika Czinano, and the rest of the Iowa team handle the pressure? We're about to find out.
