Florida vs. Iowa odds, prediction: 2026 NCAA Tournament picks from proven model

The 2026 NCAA Tournament continues with an intriguing second-round matchup on Sunday night, as the defending champion and No. 1 seed Florida faces No. 9 Iowa in the South Region. Florida dominated in its March Madness opener, destroying 16-seed Prairie View A&M by 59 points. Meanwhile, Iowa had a hard-fought 67-61 victory over No. 8 Clemson. Only one defending champion has advanced past the second round over the last eight NCAA Tournaments, while the Hawkeyes are seeking their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999.

Tipoff from the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla., is at 7:10 p.m. ET. This will me the first matchup between the programs. The Gators are 10.5-point favorites in the latest Florida vs. Iowa odds, while the over/under is 145.5. The Gators are at -575 on the money line (risk $575 to win $100), with the Hawkeyes priced at +420.

Before making any Iowa vs. Florida picks, you NEED to see the college basketball predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on top-ranked over/under picks dating back to last year, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks. Anyone following could have seen HUGE returns!

The model has simulated Florida vs. Iowa 10,000 times and the results are in. The model is going Over on the total, and it also says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time!

So who wins Iowa vs. Florida and which side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Florida vs. Iowa spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has simulated this matchup 10,000 times!