Iowa Hawkeyes vs Clemson Tigers Prediction, Odds and Picks for Friday, 03/20/26

The Iowa Hawkeyes and the Clemson Tigers will meet in Tampa Bay for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will tip off at 6:30pm EST on Friday and should be one of the best games of the day. The eight vs nine matchup is usually a toss-up and the spread indicates that it will be a close finish. The winner of this one will likely play Florida in the round of 32 and have the opportunity to shock the world. Iowa is a short favorite as the nine seed in this one, but my best bet of the game is the under. The total is currently set at 129 points and that is the play here.

I am taking the under in this game because both teams play at a very slow pace and will look to slow the game down as much as possible. According to KenPom, Iowa is ranked #357 in adjusted tempo while Clemson is ranked #333. Neither team is ranked highly in points per game, so I do not expect points to be that many points to be scored. The total has finished under the number in 60 percentage of Clemson’s games this season and I expect that trend to continue here. Take the under.

*Under 129 available at time of publishing. Playable at 128*