"The Senior Smiling Assassin": College hoops fans shower love on Lucy Olsen's "fun-damental" way to uplift confidence

Lucy Olsen is in the thick of her last March Madness appearance with the No. 6 Iowa Hawkeyes. While she prepares for Saturday's first-round game against No. 11 Murray State, Olsen shared a special way to raise her confidence for the competition.

The senior guard posted a video on TikTok on Thursday, where she was getting a haircut.

"Like I always say, basketball is fun, but the confidence you get from a great haircut is fun-damental," she said.

The video was in collaboration with Great Clips Studio, the official hair salon of March Madness.

"If you ask me, a fresh haircut for #MarchMadness can change the entire game. @GreatClips is here to give that confidence-boosting haircut for game day!," Olsen wrote in the caption

View on TikTok

Fans reacted to the clip in the comments, with one writing:

"The Senior Smiling Assassin!"

"Lucy lookin fire as always. you go girl. Go hawks," another commented.

Fan reactions to Lucy Olsen (Credit: TikTok/@lucyolsen45)

Lucy Olsen and the Iowa Hawkeyes prepare for the first March Madness together

After three seasons at Villanova, Lucy Olsen transferred to Iowa for her senior season. This will be her last chance to give it her all.

The Hawkeyes are also navigating new waters, as this is their first NCAA Tournament after the iconic Caitlin Clark era. After playing the championship game in the last two seasons, the Hawkeyes go into the tournament with additional pressure.

Iowa will play its first game on Saturday and Lucy Olsen talked about the opponent, Murray State, in a pregame presser on Friday.

"I think they’re here for a reason," she said. "Like no random team just makes March Madness. So that’s important to note. They have a 3,000-point scorer on their team. Not a lot of people do that in their career. And, yeah, they play so fast, like Syd mentioned. They just shoot the ball well. And yeah, they’re going to be tough."

Olsen's teammate, Sydney Affolter, was also present at the presser. She addressed the current Iowa roster's constant comparisons to Clark's era.

"I think Iowa basketball is always going to be Iowa basketball," Affolter said. "Obviously, Caitlin and Coach Bluder were a huge part of that. They’ve left such an amazing legacy on this program.

"But our culture stands what it is before Caitlin was here and after. And we play for each other and we play with that joy that everyone talks about and enjoys seeing."

The game is scheduled to tip off at 12 p.m. EST and will be broadcast live on ESPN.