Iowa’s KenPom-Driven March Madness Quest Struggles Against Challenging Postseason Rounds!
The Hawkeyes get ripped off by seed a bit.
KenPom says Iowa is the scariest 9-seed in March Madness brackets originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The Iowa Hawkeyes may be quite a bit under-seeded in the 2026 NCAA Tournament men's basketball bracket.
If you ask popular college hoops analytic website KenPom, Iowa is the 25th-best team in the country. If you look at the March Madness seedings, Iowa is a 9-seed (which would suggest between 33rd and 36th-best team). What gives?
Really, that's not the important part. The important part is that in picking brackets, Iowa should stick out like a sore thumb. The Hawkeyes take on 8-seed Clemson, which is ranked No.
36 by KenPom. That would suggest Iowa is actually a pretty solid favorite in that matchup. MARCH MADNESS HQ: NCAA bracket | Full TV schedule | Printable bracket An Iowa win would line up with 1-seed Florida, KenPom's fourth-ranked team.