Iowa Hawkeyes Secure Hard-Fought Victory Against Clemson Tigers In 1st Round Of NCAA Tournament
Tampa in March. It’s supposed to be about sunshine, beaches, and relaxation. But for the Clemson Tigers, it turned into an absolute nightmare on the hardwood. On the flip side, the Iowa Hawkeyes are soaking up every single ray of that Florida sun. In a matchup that felt less like a traditional basketball game and more like a 40-minute wrestling match, No. 9 Iowa took down No. 8 Clemson, 67-61, securing its first NCAA Tournament victory in half a decade.
First-year Head Coach Ben McCollum didn’t just promise to get this program back to the big dance—he delivered a signature win right out of the gates. And he did it with a team that refused to blink when the lights got bright.
Wire-to-Wire: How Iowa Suffocated the Tigers
Trailing by double digits before the under-12 media timeout is a massive recipe for disaster in the NCAA Tournament. Yet, that’s exactly the script Clemson decided to read from on Friday night. Iowa jumped on the Tigers immediately, and incredibly, they never trailed for a single second of this basketball game. Not one.
Brad Brownell’s squad fought. You have to give them that. They scrapped, clawed, and made a few terrifying runs in the second half. Butta Johnson tried to play the role of hero, burying a couple of massive three-pointers right before the halftime buzzer to trim the deficit to seven. RJ Godfrey left every ounce of sweat on the court, stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points, 7 boards, and 3 assists in his final game wearing Clemson orange.
But every single time the Tigers crept within striking distance, Iowa had an answer. A clutch free throw, a devastating 9-0 run, or a backbreaking hustle play kept Clemson playing an exhausting game of catch-up for 39 straight minutes.
The Rebounding Clinic No One Saw Coming
If you had “Iowa completely dominates the glass” on your March Madness bingo card, congratulations, you’re either a liar or a time traveler. The Hawkeyes aren’t exactly known for bullying teams in the paint, but they flipped the script completely against Clemson. They outrebounded the Tigers 40-27.
Even more agonizing for Clemson fans were the 15 offensive rebounds Iowa managed to rip away. There is nothing more soul-crushing in basketball than playing 25 seconds of perfect, lock-down defense, only to watch a loose ball bounce into the hands of an opposing player for a fresh shot clock. Iowa used those extra possessions to milk the clock, frustrate the Tigers, and effectively dictate the pace of the entire contest.
Bennett Stirtz Survives a Shooting Slump
Here is the craziest part of this entire story: Iowa pulled off this wire-to-wire tournament victory with its absolute best player having a clunker of a shooting night. Bennett Stirtz has been playing like a superhero all season long. He’s the engine that makes this offense purr. But on Friday night? The rim probably looked like a thimble to him.
Stirtz played the entire 40 minutes, but he shot a chilly 4-for-17 from the field. He finished with 16 points, mostly thanks to his sheer will and ability to get to the charity stripe.
When your star goes cold, you usually pack your bags and head home. Instead, the Hawkeyes’ supporting cast put on their hard hats. Kael Combs was a revelation, pouring in 15 crucial points when the offense desperately needed a spark.
Meanwhile, Alvaro Folgueiras came off the bench like a man possessed, dropping 14 huge points and completely altering the complexion of the game. Together with Stirtz, that trio feasted at the free-throw line, sinking 15 of the team’s 24 total makes from the stripe.
What This Means For Iowa Moving Forward
This is exactly what March is all about. The emotion, the grit, the pure survival. Clemson’s historic Elite Eight run from a couple of years ago feels like a distant memory now, replaced by the bitter pill of back-to-back first-round exits. The Tigers are heading back to South Carolina to stare down a long, grueling offseason of portal hunting and soul searching.
As for Iowa, they’ve bought themselves at least 48 more hours of life. They are guaranteed another game, and the reward for their gritty triumph is likely a terrifying date with the No. 1 seed Florida Gators.
Everyone outside of Iowa City is probably already writing them off. But if Friday night proved anything, it’s that McCollum’s squad isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty. They rebound, they defend, and they survive. And in March, survival is the only thing that matters.
