Iowa State's NCAA Tournament tickets sold out in 30 minutes as Caitlin Clark fever meets March Madness

Iowa State women's basketball fans got every ticket to the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in just 30 minutes, the school announced Monday morning.

The top-seeded Hawkeyes will play the winner of Holy Cross and Tennessee-Martin at 3pm ET on Saturday, then win either West Virginia or Princeton on Monday. Iowa State features National Player of the Year Kaitlin Clark, who holds the NCAA scoring record with 3,771 points.

Tickets on the secondary market are also rising. As of Monday morning, a single ticket for Saturday's two-game session started at $524 (including service fee) on StubHub.

It's not uncommon for the Iowa State women's basketball team to sell out its NCAA Tournament games, which it has now done for three straight years. But to do it so quickly shows how much the fans love this team.

Factoring in the two possible matchups this weekend, the top-seeded Hawkeyes (29-5) have sold out 34 of a possible 36 games. The only two that were not sold out were held in an exempt Thanksgiving tournament in Florida.

Earlier this month, the Big Ten women's basketball tournament in Minneapolis was sold out, something the men's tournament was not about to do this weekend. By most estimates, 90 percent of women's basketball attendees were Iowa State fans.

“I feel like every game we played this year was an NCAA atmosphere,” Iowa State coach Lisa Bluder said. “It was an unbelievable crowd. Our names were circled on everyone's schedule. I think we're prepared just because of what we've been through all year, not just during the Big Ten Tournament.”

As for the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 matchups, they will be held in Albany, New York, which will test the reach of Caitlin Clark's influence. It's too far away for most Iowa State fans, so most fans may need to come from the East Coast.

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“If there are any fans in the East that want to come, we will have them,” Clark said. “Honestly, there were a lot when we played at Maryland and when we played at Rutgers. A lot of people showed up, and wherever we go, I expect there will be a fair amount of basketball fans in general. And I expect Iowa fans to travel well. I don't doubt them.” At this point – if we succeed.”

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(Photo: Jeffrey Becker/USA Today)