Hawks Sweep, Clemson's Final Clash a Monster Match!
The Iowa Hawkeyes are back in the NCAA Tournament after missing the last two seasons
Iowa head coach Ben McCollum talks to Iowa guard Kael Combs (11), Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (14) annd Iowa forward Cooper Koch (8) during a basketball game against the Northwestern Wildcats Feb. 8, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images After missing the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons, the Iowa Hawkeyes (21-12, 10-10) are back.
They nabbed a 9 seed in the South Region and will face the Clemson Tigers (24-10, 12-6) on Friday, March 20th, in Tampa, FL. Iowa is currently a 2. 5-point favorite according to FanDuel .
These teams are going similar, with Iowa peaking within Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology as a 6-seed in early January. They slid as low as a 10 according to the Worldwide Leader’s resident bracketologist before nabbing the 9-seed. Clemson was similarly viewed in January, with a projected 5-seed before a midseason slide put them as a 9 as they finished the regular season 2-5.
They beat Wake Forest & North Carolina before losing to Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals. While the Hawks last won an NCAA Tournament game in 2021, a first round victory over Grand Canyon as a 2-seed, Ben McCollum and Bennett Stirtz led the 11-seeded Drake Bulldogs to a 67-57 win over the Missouri Tigers. They fell to Texas Tech in the following game.