Iowa’s NCAA Tournament tickets sell out in 30 minutes as Caitlin Clark fever meets March Madness

Follow live coverage today as Iowa, UConn meet in Final Four

Iowa women’s basketball fans scooped up every ticket to the NCAA Tournament’s first and second rounds at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in just 30 minutes, the school announced Monday morning.

The top-seeded Hawkeyes will play the winner of Holy Cross and Tennessee-Martin at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, then, with a win, either West Virginia or Princeton on Monday. Iowa features reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark, who holds the NCAA career scoring record with 3,771 points.

Tickets on the secondary market are soaring as well. As of Monday morning, a single ticket for Saturday’s two-game session started at $524 (including service fees) on StubHub.

It’s a common occurrence for Iowa’s women’s basketball team to sell out its home NCAA Tournament games, which it now has done for three consecutive years. But to do it so quickly speaks to how beloved this team is by its fans.

GO DEEPER

Like Steph and Jimmer before her, Caitlin Clark is a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience

Counting two likely games this weekend, the top-seeded Hawkeyes (29-5) have sold out 34 of 36 possible games. The only two not sold out took place in an exempt Thanksgiving tournament in Florida.

Earlier this month, the entire Big Ten women’s basketball tournament was sold out in Minneapolis, something the men’s tournament was not close to doing this weekend. By most estimates, 90 percent of the women’s basketball attendees were Iowa fans.

“I feel like every game that we’ve played in this year has been that NCAA atmosphere,” Iowa coach Lisa Bluder said. “It’s been an unbelievable crowd. We’ve had our names circled on everybody’s schedule. I think that we’re prepared just because of what we’ve went through throughout the year, not just during the Big Ten tournament.”

As for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matchups, they will be held in Albany, N.Y., which will test the reach of the Caitlin Clark Effect. It’s too far for most Iowa fans to drive, so the majority of fans may need to come from the East Coast.

GO DEEPER

How Caitlin Clark and Iowa can navigate a tough road to the Final Four

“If there’s any fans out east that want to come, we’ll take them,” Clark said. “Honestly, there was a lot when we played at Maryland and when we played at Rutgers. A lot of people showed up, and really wherever we go, I expect there to be a good amount of just basketball fans in general. And I’m expecting Iowa fans to travel really well. I don’t doubt them at this point — if we make it.”

GO DEEPER

Will Caitlin Clark and Iowa's second-round struggles be the key to a Sweet 16 victory?

Required reading

(Photo: Jeffrey Becker / USA Today)