IN PICS: Iowa's Sydney Affolter shares cozy March Madness watch party snaps with BF Brennen Dorighi, teammates Lucy Olsen and more

Iowa women's basketball star Sydney Affolter enjoyed a cozy March Madness selection watch party with her boyfriend, Brennen Dorighi, and her teammates on Sunday. Affolter shared a series of Instagram photos of herself having a great dinner with Brennen, teammates Lucy Olsen, Taylor Stremlow, Callie Elevin and Mia Magnotta at the Big Grove Brewery on Monday.

"March Madness watch parties @biggrovebrewery are truly unmatched🤍🏀," the Iowa senior captioned the post.

Affolter is in her fourth year with Iowa and has been instrumental to the team's high-level performance despite getting sidelined due to an injury early in the 2024-25 season. Averaging 8.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists on 48.6% shooting, Affolter will be a key member of the Hawkeyes as they begin their NCAA Tournament ride against Murray State on Saturday.

Iowa endured a difficult season but remains one of the teams to beat in the NCAA despite losing five straight games in the regular season. With standout players like Affolter, Olsen, Hanna Stuelke and Addison O'Grady, the Hawkeyes are expected to produce some of the best performances in the tournament.

However, they will first have to go past the Murray State Racers, who are seeded No. 11, in the first round of the tournament.

Sydney Affolter excited to play Murray State in NCAA opener

Iowa star Sydney Affolter expressed her excitement about the prospect of playing against Murray State during the NCAA Tournament opener on Saturday. The Hawkeyes are seeded No. 6 and will take on the 11th-seeded Racers in their bid to get their hands on the tournament title.

Asked what she thought about what she thought about playing against Murray State in the first round, Affolter said:

"I'm excited, obviously haven't seen them play very much on the scout. But we'll see, we'll handle it tomorrow during practice. But I'm really excited."

If Iowa pulls off a win against Murray State, the Hawkeyes will likely face the Oklahoma Sooners in the second round. A win will see them in the Sweet 16, where they will likely be joined by regional No. 1 seed USC and No. 2 seed Connecticut. Iowa still has a lot of work to do to go as far as possible in the tournament.