ESPN looks at Iowa basketball's March Madness, NCAA Tournament ceiling

[ASFN Admin]

Friday night at 5:50 p.m. CT is approaching very quickly for the Iowa Hawkeyes and their fans. It marks the No. 8-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes' return to the NCAA Tournament in Ben McCollum's first year as a head coach and a date against the No. 9 seed Clemson Tigers.

The matchup in itself is going to be a tough one. Both of these teams want to slow this game down to a crawl, limit possessions, and play an efficient, defensive style of basketball. It figures to be low-scoring, which lends itself to a tight game.

If Iowa can get past Clemson, the road only gets tougher, as No. 1 seed Florida, if it can get past a No. 16 seed, could be waiting in the round of 32. If Iowa gets through the first round, what could its ceiling be? ESPN's Joe Lunardi looked at just how far Iowa could make it in the tournament.

No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes

Why they will advance

The Hawkeyes feature Bennett Stirtz, one of the best players most of America still doesn't know yet. He'll be a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA draft, but he needs help and Tavion Banks (10.5 PPG) is Iowa's only other double-digit scorer.

Why they won't advance

Ben McCollum was hired last spring, so he didn't have much time to construct a perfect roster. His first Iowa squad is a mixture of ex-Drake players, non-Drake transfers, some Fran McCaffery-era holdovers and high school recruits. But there are roster holes -- no true center, lack of a second ball-handling playmaker to complement Stirtz -- and they've shown up in the team's losses.

Did you know?

Stirtz earned All-Big Ten honors -- voted first team by the league's media and second team by Big Ten coaches -- after following McCollum from Drake. Stirtz finished the regular season averaging 20.2 points, 4.4 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. The Hawkeyes play at one of the slowest paces in college basketball under McCollum, making these gaudy numbers all the more impressive. -- Bill Doherty

By the numbers

Eye test rank: 28Résumé rating: 42NCAA seed list: 36

Joey Brackets says ...

Iowa has slumped down the stretch, losing seven of its past 10 contests. Could the Hawkeyes benefit from the rest between their Big Ten tourney loss to Ohio State and the first round of the Big Dance? Probably. But the Hawkeyes face a strong first-round foe in Clemson. It's more likely a one-and-done trip.

Final field rank: 41 - Joe Lunardi, ESPN

If Clemson throws multiple defenders, they can dare Iowa to have someone else beat them, which has been an issue throughout the season against good teams. If Bennett Stirtz gets neutralized or slowed down, the Hawkeyes' offense often looks stuck in the mud without potent guard play.

All of that said, stopping Bennett Stirtz is much easier said than done. The star guard led the Drake Bulldogs to a win in the NCAA Tournament last year, despite everyone knowing he was the guy. Why not do it again?

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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: ESPN looks at Iowa basketball's March Madness, NCAA Tournament ceiling

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