Jay Bilas makes prediction for Clemson vs Iowa in NCAA Tournament

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Mar 20, 2026 - 00:00
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Jay Bilas makes prediction for Clemson vs Iowa in NCAA Tournament

Tipoff for the Clemson Tigers' first-round NCAA Tournament matchup against the Iowa Hawkeyes is rapidly approaching. The two teams will meet in the No. 8 vs. 9 seed game in the South Region Friday at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.

Clemson (24-10 overall), the No. 8 seed, won two games at the ACC Tournament in Charlotte last week by defeating Wake Forest, 71-62, and pulling an 80-79 upset of North Carolina to reach the semifinals round.

Iowa (21-12) defeated Maryland in its Big Ten tournament opener before falling to Ohio State, 72-69, last Thursday. Both the Tigers and Hawkeyes enter the game on a downward trend; Clemson has dropped six of its last 10 games while Iowa has lost seven of 10.

Nevertheless, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas has a feel for how Friday's game will go and recently made his prediction for Clemson-Iowa. Bilas is taking the Hawkeyes to send the Tigers to their second straight first-round exit in March Madness.

Bilas said:

"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."

A year ago, Clemson fell in a first-round upset to 12th-seeded McNeese State in Providence, Rhode Island.

The Tigers reached the Elite Eight for only the second time in program history two years ago by defeating a streaking New Mexico Lobos team in the first round before pulling upsets of No. 3 seed Baylor and No. 2 Arizona in the round of 32 and Sweet 16, respectively.

Clemson vs. Iowa basketball start time, TV channel, announcers

Tipoff for Clemson-Iowa is 6:50 p.m. ET Friday in Tampa. The game will be televised on TNT. Tom McCarthy will have the play-by-play call of the game with Dan Bonner and Candace Parker providing analysis. AJ Ross will report from the sidelines.

Clemson basketball 2025-26 schedule, results

  • Nov. 3: vs. New Hampshire (W, 88-38)
  • Nov. 7: vs. Gardner-Webb (W, 97-59)
  • Nov. 11: vs. Morehead State (W, 83-56)
  • Nov. 15: at Georgetown (L, 79-74)
  • Nov. 17: vs. North Alabama (W, 81-61)
  • Nov. 21: vs. West Virginia (W, 70-67)
  • Nov. 23: vs. Georgia (W, 97-94, OT)
  • Nov. 28: vs. Alabama A&M (W, 92-56)
  • Dec. 3: at Alabama (L, 90-84)
  • Dec. 9 vs. BYU (L, 67-64)
  • Dec. 13: vs. Mercer (W, 70-63)
  • Dec. 16: vs. South Carolina (W, 68-61)
  • Dec. 21: vs. Cincinnati (W, 68-65)
  • Dec. 31: at Syracuse (W, 64-61)
  • Jan. 3: at Pittsburgh (W, 73-68)
  • Jan. 7: vs. SMU (W, 74-70)
  • Jan. 10: at Notre Dame (W, 76-61)
  • Jan. 13: vs. Boston College (W, 74-50)
  • Jan. 17: vs. Miami (W, 69-59)
  • Jan. 20: vs. NC State (L, 80-76, OT)
  • Jan. 24: at Georgia Tech (W, 77-63)
  • Jan. 31: vs. Pittsburgh (W, 63-52)
  • Feb. 4: at Stanford (W, 66-64)
  • Feb. 7: at California (W, 77-55)
  • Feb. 11: vs. Virginia Tech (L, 76-66)
  • Feb. 14: at Duke (L, 67-54)
  • Feb. 18: at Wake Forest (L, 85-77)
  • Feb. 21: Florida State (L, 70-65)
  • Feb. 28: vs. Louisville (W, 80-75)
  • March 3: at North Carolina (L, 67-63)
  • March 7: vs. Georgia Tech (W, 79-76)

ACC Tournament:

  • March 11: vs. Wake Forest (W, 71-62)
  • March 12: vs. North Carolina (W, 80-79)
  • March 13: vs. Duke (L, 73-61)
  • 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 vs Iowa prediction from ESPN's Jay Bilas

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