Iowa Coach Jan Jensen Explains Why Reaching Sweet Sixteen Isn't Measure of Success
The No. 6 seeded Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team faces an extremely tough test on Monday when they face the No. 3 seeded Oklahoma Sooners in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
Not only will this matchup determine whether the Hawkeyes can advance to the Sweet Sixteen in the first year that Jan Jensen is the program's head coach, but Jensen also faces a familiar foe in Sooners head coach Jennie Baranczyk, as Baranczyk played for Jensen and former Hawkeyes head coach Lisa Bluder at Iowa from 2000 to 2004.
Baranczyk has been Oklahoma's head coach since 2021, and her team has lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament every season she has been at the program's helm.
When speaking with the media on March 23, Jensen delivered a powerful message about either her or Baranczyk advancing to their first Sweet Sixteen as a head coach — at the other's expense.
“I think it's a moment. One of us is going to have a moment. But I tell you, I've already had a lot of great moments this year. If I was just putting all of my success and my enjoyment in my career into being the head coach that takes someone to the Sweet 16, I would have missed everything at Drake," Jensen said, per an X post from Chad Leistikow of Hawkeye Central.
"I would have missed everything at Iowa. And I’ve had a blast... This would be great. But it would be great because of this team and what THIS team has done. But for me, I’d rather not play Jennie because I usually cheer for her. And if you’re a former player and you’re a former Hawk, I’m on your team for life,” she added.
Iowa's Jan Jensen with a great answer on what it would mean for her (or Oklahoma's Jennie Baranczyk) to reach their first Sweet 16 as a head coach.
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) March 23, 2025
“I think it's a moment. One of us is going to have a moment. But I tell you, I've already had a lot of great moments this year. If…
It's cool to hear how Jensen is putting this season's success into perspective. However, that doesn't mean she isn't keen for her Hawkeyes to beat Baranczyk's Sooners on Monday.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.