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

The ninth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes will battle the eighth-seeded Clemson Tigers in a first-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament on Friday. The Hawkeyes will hit the court after losing a close game to the Ohio State Buckeyes, 69-72, while the Tigers lost 61-73 to the ACC Champion Duke Blue Devils. The Hawkeyes (21-12) finished ninth in the Big Ten The Tigers (24-10) will be without starting forward Carter Welling after he tore his ACL in the ACC Tournament. 

Tipoff from the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Orlando, is set for 6:50 p.m. ET. Iowa is a 1.5-point favorite in the latest Iowa vs Clemson odds from DraftKings Sportsbook, while the over/under for total points scored is 130.5. 

Before making any Clemson vs. Iowa 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 Iowa vs. Clemson 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 cashes over 50% of the time!

So who wins Iowa vs Clemson, and which side of the spread hits in over 50% of simulations? Join SportsLine right now to see which side of the Iowa vs. Clemson spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that just simulated this matchup 10,000 times!