The 8-9 matchups in the NCAA Tournament are often defined by close margins and conflicting narratives. Friday’s matchup between Clemson and Iowa in Tampa is no exception. Both programs limped into the tournament.
No. 8 seed Clemson (24-10) and No. 9 seed Iowa (21-12) will collide at Benchmark International Arena tomorrow. Both teams are coming into this game with their own brand of baggage, having each lost seven of their last 10 games. The history between the two teams brings even more weight to the occasion, as the Tigers last tasted the promise of March after reaching the Elite Eight two seasons ago. Disappointingly, they crashed out in the first round a year ago, pummelled 76-61 by a McNeese State team that had gone 22-11 and had won its tournament game.
ESPN’s Jay Bilas predicts that the Tigers will fall prey to Brownell’s notorious pattern of getting eliminated from the tournament early.
The Stirtz Factor
Clemson showed some signs of life in the ACC Tournament, including knocking off North Carolina in a one-point game to advance to the semifinals. However, Bilas doesn't think the Tigers or anyone else in the tournament can compete with the ultimate equalizer in March – and that's a guy who can score in the paint.
The Tigers are a big team and well-coached, but Iona is a capable matchup for them. And the Hawkeyes have the best shotmaker in college basketball, in my mind, in Bennett Stirtz. He averages 20.2 points a game with 3.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
Stirtz has done a great job of setting up on the perimeter and creating his own looks. That’s not something you can say about the Clemson defense of late.
A Collision of Trends
The resume for Clemson is different, and there’s a decent argument to be made that it’s extremely good and another that it’s fairly average. I’m more in the camp that it’s average. Clemson has three impressive victories on the resume — games against Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina — but the Tigers have struggled with consistency late in the season. In a similar vein, the Iowa resume features some positive and negative traits. The negative came Wednesday in an 72-58 loss at Ohio State after the 17th-seeded Tigers fell 54-49 to No. 16 Maryland in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
Bilas isn’t just focused on the game at hand. He shared his assessment of the future of each team in the South Region and comes to the conclusion that, winner or loser, each team’s South Region stay will be short-lived.
"Take Iowa," Bilas predicted. " Neither beats Florida, anyway."
How to Watch: No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Iowa
Time: Friday, 6:50 p.m. ET
Location: Benchmark International Arena, Tampa, FL
TV: TNT
Broadcast Team: Tom McCarthy (PxP), Dan Bonner, Candace Parker, AJ Ross (Sideline)