Clemson men’s basketball learns NCAA seed, opening game for 2026 March Madness
Clemson men’s basketball’s NCAA Tournament path is set.
Coach Brad Brownell’s Tigers are the No. 8 seed in the bracket’s South Region, it was announced Sunday night on CBS. Clemson will play its opening game against No. 9 Iowa (21-12) on Friday in Tampa, Florida.
Clemson and Iowa will tip off at 6:50 p.m. Friday on TNT.
If Clemson were to win that game at Benchmark International Arena, it would likely play No. 1 Florida in a second-round matchup. The Gators play their opening game Friday against a No. 16 seed (either Prairie View A&M or Lehigh).
Florida’s game will tip off around 9:25 p.m. Friday on TNT after Clemson-Iowa.
Clemson is in the South Region, meaning if it wins two games in Tampa it would play potential Sweet 16/Elite Eight games at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Clemson entered Selection Sunday with a 24-10 record and was a lock for the March Madness field. The Tigers tied for fourth in the ACC with a 12-6 conference record and won two games in two days to advance to the conference tournament semifinals in Charlotte before losing to eventual champion Duke.
Those are impressive results, considering Clemson and Brownell only returned one player who scored a basket from last year’s record-setting 27-win team (senior guard Dillon Hunter) and were picked seventh in the preseason ACC poll.
The Tigers are making their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, something they’d never previously done under Brownell, who’s in his 16th season as coach. Brownell is the third coach to lead Clemson basketball to three straight NCAA Tournaments, joining Oliver Purnell and Rick Barnes.
Under Brownell, Clemson has also won 20 or more games four seasons in a row for the first time since 2006-10. The Tigers’ 98 wins since 2022 are the most in a four-year period in program history (the previous record was 93).
This is Clemson’s 16th all-time March Madness appearance. The Tigers’ best finish is the Elite Eight round (1980, 2024). Last year, they went one and done, losing to No. 12 McNeese State in the first round as a No. 5 seed.
Clemson held a Selection Sunday watch party at Littlejohn Coliseum, with players wearing Hardee’s T-shirts as part of a unique NIL deal with the fast food chain.
“It’s a great day for Clemson basketball,” Brownell said. “Don’t take these for granted. It’s a lot of hard work that goes into this. Certainly really proud of our team. I think these guys have given us maximum effort all year.
Scouting Iowa, and Clemson’s seeding
Iowa is in its first season under former Drake coach Ben McCollum. The Hawkeyes finished 21-12 and ninth in the Big Ten at 10-10. Iowa closed the season losing six of eight games and has lost seven of 10 overall entering the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa ranked No. 27 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, seven spots above Clemson (No. 34), and was 4-9 in Quadrant 1 games. The Hawkeyes were 1-8 against AP-ranked teams. Their best player is Bennett Stirtz, a second team All Big Ten point guard who followed McCollum from Drake and averages 20 points per game.
“They just play together,” Brownell said. “They’re extremely well coached.”
According to seed list released by the NCAA Division I selection committee, Iowa was the No. 36 overall seed in the field (the last of the four No. 9 seeds). Clemson was No. 29, the highest of the four No. 8 seeds.
Brownell said he thought there was a chance Clemson would’ve moved to a No. 7 seed after beating Wake Forest and UNC in the ACC Tournament. Those were Quad 2 and Quad 1 wins, respectively, and could’ve put Clemson to play a No. 2 seed in the second round as a No. 7 seed (vs. a No. 1 seed as a No. 8 seed).
Brownell wondered if a key Clemson injury might’ve played a role.
“You just don’t know,” Brownell said. “I don’t know if there was ever a Carter Welling effect and we moved down. Just happy to be there. ... Regardless of whatever your seed is, you’re gonna play somebody that’s pretty doggone good.”
How to watch Clemson MBB’s first NCAA game
Who: No. 8 seed Clemson (24-10) vs. No. 9 seed Iowa (21-12)
When: 6:50 p.m. Friday
Where: Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida
TV: TNT
Point spread: Iowa by 1.5 points
This story was originally published March 15, 2026 at 6:31 PM.
