Eighth-seeded Clemson and No. 9 seed Iowa will meet in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament on Friday (6:50 p.m., TNT) at the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla.
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas predicted every single game of the NCAA Tourney, and he picked the Hawkeyes to beat the Tigers.
“The Tigers are big and well-coached, but the Hawkeyes have Bennett Stirtz, one of the best shotmakers in college basketball, who is averaging 20.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists. Take Iowa. Neither beats Florida, anyway,” Bilas wrote.
Indeed, Bilas picked No.