Coach Brad Brownell’s Clemson Tigers are in the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row. The Tigers face the Iowa Hawkeyes in the first round of the South Region bracket at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa.
Clemson was selected as the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament after going 24-10 overall ahead of Selection Sunday. The Tigers started 20-4, which included a 10-1 mark in conference play, before dropping six of their last 10 games. Clemson suffered a 73-61 loss to No. 1 Duke in the semifinal round of the ACC Tournament on Friday.
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The Tigers offense, which rates 71st nationally in KenPom’s ratings, has averaged 74.1 points per game during this season. Clemson’s defense has allowed an average of 66.7 points per game, and is 21st in KenPom’s defensive efficiency ratings.
Senior forward RJ Godfrey leads the Tigers in scoring with 12 points per game this season. With Carter Welling out for the season with a torn ACL, guard Jestin Porter is now second on the team with 9.5 points per game.
Iowa (21-12 overall) also enters the NCAA Tournament having dropped seven of its last 10 games, including a 72-69 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes at the Big Ten’s conference tournament on Thursday.
The Hawkeyes average 75.2 points per game and have allowed 66 points per game on average. Iowa is 25th overall in KenPom’s team rankings. Bennett Stirtz leads the Hawkeyes in scoring with 20 points per game, followed by Tavion Banks’ 10.5.
Will Clemson beat Iowa in NCAA Tournament? ESPN makes prediction
Ahead of Clemson-Iowa, ESPN’s matchup predictor, which offers a prediction model based on its college basketball power index (BPI) and other variables, sees the game as a virtual toss-up. ESPN’s metrics give the Tigers a 50.6% chance to win and the Hawkeyes a 49.4% chance.
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Clemson is 28th nationally in ESPN’s latest BPI ratings, up three spots from before the ACC Tournament. The Tigers have a 14.6 overall BPI rating. The metrics give Clemson a 5.9 rating on offense that rates 51st nationally, and an 8.7 rating on defense that’s 19th nationally.
Iowa is 31st nationally in ESPN’s BPI team rankings with a 14.4 overall rating. The Hawkeyes have an offensive rating of 8.2, which is 32nd in BPI, and a defensive rating of 6.2 that’s 35th.
What is ESPN Basketball Power Index?
ESPN explains of its basketball power index and score projections:
The College Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team’s W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day’s rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily.”
Start time, TV channel, announcers for Clemson vs Iowa basketball
Tipoff for Clemson-Iowa is 6:50 p.m. ET Friday in Tampa, Florida. The game will be televised on TNT. Additionally, the national radio feed of the game can be heard on Westwood One and on SiriusXM channel 202.
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Clemson basketball schedule 2026
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Nov. 3: vs. New Hampshire (W, 88-38)
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Nov. 7: vs. Gardner-Webb (W, 97-59)
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Nov. 11: vs. Morehead State (W, 83-56)
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Nov. 15: at Georgetown (L, 79-74)
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Nov. 17: vs. North Alabama (W, 81-61)
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Nov. 21: vs. West Virginia (W, 70-67)
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Nov. 23: vs. Georgia (W, 97-94, OT)
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Nov. 28: vs. Alabama A&M (W, 92-56)
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Dec. 9 vs. BYU (L, 67-64)
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Dec. 13: vs. Mercer (W, 70-63)
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Dec. 16: vs. South Carolina (W, 68-61)
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Dec. 21: vs. Cincinnati (W, 68-65)
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Dec. 31: at Syracuse (W, 64-61)
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Jan. 3: at Pittsburgh (W, 73-68)
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Jan. 7: vs. SMU (W, 74-70)
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Jan. 13: vs. Boston College (W, 74-50)
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Jan. 17: vs. Miami (W, 69-59)
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Jan. 20: vs. NC State (L, 80-76, OT)
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Jan. 24: at Georgia Tech (W, 77-63)
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Jan. 31: vs. Pittsburgh (W, 63-52)
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Feb. 4: at Stanford (W, 66-64)
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Feb. 7: at California (W, 77-55)
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Feb. 11: vs. Virginia Tech (L, 76-66)
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Feb. 14: at Duke (L, 67-54)
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Feb. 18: at Wake Forest (L, 85-77)
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Feb. 28: vs. Louisville (W, 80-75)
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March 3: at North Carolina (L, 67-63)
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March 7: vs. Georgia Tech (W, 79-76)
ACC Tournament:
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March 11: vs. Wake Forest (W, 71-62)
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March 12: vs. North Carolina (W, 80-79)
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March 13: vs. Duke (L, 73-61)
NCAA Tournament:
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March 20: vs. Iowa, 6:50 p.m. ET, TNT
Record: 24-10 overall.
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This article originally appeared on Clemson Wire: Clemson basketball odds of beating Iowa in NCAA Tournament, per ESPN
