Iowa, Iowa State Women Both Host NCAA Tournament Openers

One night after the men's NCAA Tournament Bracket revealed both Iowa and Iowa State made the tourney, the 64-team field for the women's tourney was announced on Monday. It was good news for both Iowa and Iowa State, who will both open play at home. The Drake Bulldogs will also start tournament play in the state of Iowa.

The Iowa Hawkeyes, the No. 2 seed in the Greensboro region, play No. 15-seed Mercer at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City Friday afternoon. Iowa plays at 1 PM in a game televised by ESPN2. Iowa, 26-6 and coming off last week's Big Ten Tournament Championship, hosts a red-hot 25-7 Mercer team that hasn't lost since January 6. The Bears have won their last 17 games.

Immediately following the Iowa game, No. 7 seed Missouri will play 10th-seeded Drake in Iowa City. Missouri is 23-10, while the Bulldogs are 27-6. The game will tip-off at approximately 3:30 PM and will also be shown live on ESPN2.

If Iowa and Drake can both win Friday, they'll face each other Sunday in Iowa City.

Iowa State is the No. 3 seed in the Chicago region. The 25-8 Cyclones open tournament play Saturday afternoon at approximately 5 PM on ESPN2, against New Mexico State. The 14th-seeded Lobos are 26-6. DePaul and Missouri State will play the early game Saturday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum in Ames.

You can see the full NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament Bracket HERE.