Iowa State, Iowa women earn NCAA bids

DES MOINES (AP) ? Despite an early-season swoon, Iowa State has earned yet another trip to the NCAA tournament bid.

The Cyclones landed their sixth consecutive NCAA bid on Monday night and will host Horizon League champion Wisconsin-Green Bay on Saturday.

Iowa also earned an at-large bid to the tournament, its fifth straight. The eighth-seeded Hawkeyes (19-11) will play No. 9 California (24-9) on Sunday in South Bend, Ind., with the winner likely facing Notre Dame on Tuesday.

The Cyclones (18-12) are the 10th seed in the Kingston, R.I., region. If the Cyclones beat Green Bay (30-1) they?ll face either second-seeded Kentucky or McNeese State in the second round.

Though Iowa State will host the first two rounds in Ames, it had to sweat out an invitation to its own party after losing in the Big 12 tournament to Kansas State on Thursday.

Iowa State dropped its first five Big 12 games and appeared to be on the outside looking in in late January. But the Cyclones saved their season with eight wins in their next 10, ensuring the 13th NCAA tournament trip under coach Bill Fennelly.

Green Bay believed it should have been seeded higher than seventh. The Phoenix will be eager to prove themselves in a rematch of a highly-contested second-round NCAA tournament game in Ames two years ago.

Iowa State barely held off Green Bay in 2010, rallying from a halftime deficit to win 60-56 and move on to the regional semifinals.

Neither Iowa State nor Iowa were slotted for the Des Moines regional, set for March 24 and 26. But it could prove to be the juiciest regional of all, with a potential matchup between top-seeded Baylor and No. 2 seed Tennessee looming for a trip to the Final Four in Denver.