Clemson vs Iowa Prediction and Preview: NCAA Tournament First Round

Clemson vs Iowa Game Preview: Fastbreaks Not Allowed

Clemson vs Iowa How To Watch

Date: Friday, March 20
Venue: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
Time: 6:50 pm ET
TV: TNT
Streaming: March Madness Live App, Paramount+, HBO Max
Teams: (8) Clemson 24-10, (9) Iowa 21-12
Clemson Rankings: KenPom 36 | NET 34
Iowa Rankings: KenPom 25 | NET 27

College Football Programs: Clemson is still trying to restore the glory, but it’ll have a problem with way too many replacements from a disappointing 2025.

Iowa is Iowa. It’ll run, play great defense, punt, repeat, and win around nine games.
- CFN NCAA Tournament Schedule, Previews

Key Stats

- Clemson doesn’t like to get on the move in any way. It’s 318th in the nation in fastbreak points.

- Iowa’s defense is a rock, ranking first in the Big Ten and 16th in the nation in scoring D allowing 66 points per game.

Why Iowa Will Win: The Hawkeyes Control the Tempo

See if this sounds familiar when it comes to Iowa, college football fans.

The Hawkeyes like to keep the tempo relatively slow, there aren’t any fastbreak points whatsoever, and they grind out games by not turning it over.

They’re methodical, set up the right shot, and hit it after all of the work. Points will be at a premium, with every possession mattering.

Clemson is awful on the offensive boards - there won’t be any second chance points - and it doesn’t like to run, either.

Like football, Iowa will do what it does better than the other team does what it does.

Why Clemson Will Win: No Tiger Turnover Issues

One of the keys to the Iowa offensive style is its ability to force takeaways and win the turnover battle.

It’s No. 1 in the Big Ten in turnover margin, and it needs to force the mistakes as part of the whole defensive plan. However, Clemson doesn’t turn it over.

The Tigers were among the best teams in the ACC in fewest mistakes, and it, too, likes a defensive battle that relies on the halfcourt set. There’s one other big difference that’s even bigger.

Iowa’s defense isn’t nearly as good as Clemson’s. The Hawkeyes have a hard time stopping shots in the interior, allowing teams to hit over 46% of their shots.

The Tigers don’t come up with blocks, but they allow just 42% from the field.

Clemson vs Iowa Prediction, Betting Lines

In what should be a close, tight fight, it will come down to the little things.

Iowa is better from three, and it’s better at the free throw line, hitting 77% of its chances to Clemson’s 73%.

But don’t think this will be a slugfest. Both teams can score. Iowa is 18-1 when scoring 73 points or more, and Clemson is 21-4 when scoring 68 points or more.

This will be interesting until the end, with Iowa getting that one extra late push to pull it out.

Prediction: Iowa 70, Clemson 67
Consensus Line: Iowa -2.5, o/u: 129.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 1.5

Meet the NCAA Tournament Seeds
No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6
No. 7 | No. 8 | No. 9 | No. 10 | No. 11
No. 12 | No. 13 | No. 14 | No. 15 | No. 16

Consensus Line from BetMGM, Caesars, DraftKings, and FanDuel. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.