Iowa to Face Clemson in First Round of NCAA Tournament

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team received an at-large berth into the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament on Sunday.  It is the Hawkeyes’ 30th appearance in program history. 

The Hawkeyes (21-12) received a No. 9 seed (No. 36 overall) and will face eighth-seeded Clemson (24-10) on Friday in Tampa, Florida, in the South Region.  Game time and television information will be released later this evening. 

The other teams in Iowa’s first-weekend bracket are top-seeded Florida (26-7) and No. 16 seeds Prairie View A&M (18-17) and Lehigh (18-16).

Clemson, the No. 29 seed overall, enters March Madness with a 24-10 overall record and the Tigers went 12-6 in the ACC, tying for fourth place in the standings.  Clemson’s leading scorer RJ Godfrey (11.8 ppg.) was an honorable mention All-ACC selection.

Information on Thursday's pre-tournament news conferences and open practice times will be released on Monday.

TICKET INFORMATION
The Iowa Athletics Ticket Office receives a limited number of tickets and will not have any general public ticket sales through our office.  Fans are encouraged to visit ncaatickets.com for ticket availability.

IOWA NCAA TOURNAMENT TIDBITS

• Head coach Ben McCollum is the second Iowa coach to lead the program to the NCAA Tournament in year one, joining Dr. Tom Davis (1988).
• McCollum is 36-8 all-time in NCAA Tournament play – 35-7 at the Division II level and 1-1 at the Division I level.
• Iowa is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since the 2022-23 season.
• The Hawkeyes have been a No. 9 seed one other time (1992) in program history.
• Iowa has won three games over NCAA Tournament teams this season: Nebraska, UCLA and Ohio State