UI Athletics news release
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. Tipoff is set for 5:50 Friday night on TNT.
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), 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