"This group is so special": Iowa coach Jan Jensen shows pride for Hawkeyes as squad prepares for March Madness' Second Round

Iowa women's basketball celebrated its Hawkeyes team ahead of the second round of March Madness. The sixth-seeded Hawkeyes will take on the third-seeded Oklahoma Sooners on Monday after demolishing Murray State 92-57 on Saturday.

On Monday, Jan Jensen shared her pride in her team and motivation to take on the next round through her Instagram story.

"This group is so special & I sure am proud of 'em! Our Hawks are ready to go & we know Hawkeye Nation is too!! Let's goooooo!" She wrote.

Jan Jensen shares post on IG story. Image via @janjensen13

Jensen's Iowa had endured an inconsistent season and even failed to retain its Big 12 title after falling to Creighton in the quarterfinals. Despite this, the Hawkeyes remain a top NCAA Tournament team, having been to the Final Four back-to-back, led last year by the Tournament's all-time scorer, Caitlin Clark.

Monday's game is another opportunity for the Hawkeyes to pull off an upset against a higher-ranking team, a task they have proven they could accomplish, especially after what they did with JuJu Watkins' USC in the regular season.

Jan Jensen speaks on Iowa being the underdog ahead of the Oklahoma clash

Ahead of the NCAA Tournament second-round game against the Oklahoma Sooners, Jan Jensen's Iowa Hawkeyes will be tested at home in a game that could get them closer to the national title. However, Jensen seems to relish the Hawkeyes' underdog status and said it would not stop the team from doing what needs to be done.

Jensen said this via the Hawk Central YouTube channel on Sunday. (1:28):

"Sometimes being the underdog role that hasn't, you know, we haven't been there for a few years, really. So we're just trying to embrace and know it's really difficult and you know, I'm not trying to undersell or overdeliver, they [Oklahoma] just have a lot great bigs inside. I mean they're four of them, four of them are really good and they're huge."

" And you got big guards. so, there's a lot of you know, from where you're playing. I don't care where you're playing. That's just hard in the SEC. They've had a lot of success in that."

Jensen expressed admiration for her team's game plan and fighting spirit. She emphasized that the Hawkeyes will give their all in the next game, striving not only to compete but to become tournament favorites.