Over and out: Clemson basketball drops opening NCAA Tournament game vs. Iowa
Clemson basketball is getting pretty good at the wrong kind of one-and-done.
The Tigers had one of their worst offensive performances of the year and dropped their opening NCAA Tournament game 67-61 to Iowa on Friday night.
No. 8-seeded Clemson’s season ends at 24-11, while No. 9 Iowa (22-12) advances to the second round and will likely play No. 1 Florida on Sunday in Tampa, Florida.
It’s the second year in row Clemson coach Brad Brownell’s program lost in the Round of 64. The Tigers were a No. 5 seed last year after winning a program-record 27 games but lost to No. 12 McNeese State in the first round.
Clemson trailed Iowa by 14 points (54-40) with 7 minutes, 32 seconds left in the game before cutting its deficit to two possessions on multiple occasions, including four points (61-57) with 1:28 remaining at Benchmark International Arena.
But the Tigers didn’t lead at any point in the game and never had the ball with a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the second half.
Clemson lost despite shooting better than Iowa from the field and on 3-pointers, doomed by deficiencies in other stats like offensive rebounds and second-chance points and 50-50 balls (which weren’t tracked but definitely favored Iowa).
“That’s what’s going to be haunting with this loss,” Brownell said. “You had a chance. ... We just didn’t quite have it tonight. We just couldn’t quite make the timely play.”
Another cold start in first half
Last year, Clemson went one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament and when it lost to McNeese State. The defining stat of that upset: The Tigers scored just 13 points in the first half, one of the worst outputs in men’s tournament history by any team.
Early in Friday’s first half against Iowa, some Clemson fans were getting déjà vu as the Tigers missed 12 of their first 15 shot attempts and fell in a 12-point hole.
Clemson didn’t hit 10 points until 11 minutes into the game and looked a lot like the team that went flat late in the first half against Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals and dug themselves a hole they couldn’t get out of last week.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Clemson guard Butta Johnson provided a spark, but the Tigers didn’t lead at any point in the first half and trailed 32-25 at halftime against a defensively sound Iowa team that limits possessions and open shots.
“I told the guys at halftime, ‘We’re in a good position to win the game. We really are,’” Brownell said. “... You’re kind of right where you want to be when you’re a team that maybe played a little better the last part of the first half, built a little momentum. ... There’s plenty of time left.”
Clemson can’t close the gap in second half
But the consistency never came. Forward RJ Godfrey’s layup cut Clemson’s deficit to just two points, 35-33, with 14 minutes left. Iowa responded with an 8-0 run.
Later, the Hawkeyes used solid free-throw shooting to pad their lead. Clemson was whistled for 21 fouls (15 in the first half) and Iowa shot 31 free throws, tied for the second most by a Clemson opponent this year, and shot 77% at the line.
Defending without fouling was a “problem” for Clemson, Brownell said.
As was rebounding. Clemson sorely missed injured forward Carter Welling’s scoring and 6-foot-10 presence for a second straight game, getting out-rebounded 40-27 by Iowa (+13) without Welling, who tore his ACL last week.
The Hawkeyes also grabbed 15 offensive rebounds, second most by a Clemson opponent this year, and outscored Clemson 16-4 in second-chance points. In a gritty game, those extra opportunities were crucial for coach Ben McCollum’s squad.
“In late-season play it’s important to be able to get 50/50 balls, and I thought our kids did a good job of that,” McCollum said. “We’re used to it in the Big Ten.”
The Tigers did an OK job defending star Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, who needed 17 shots to reach 16 points, but other Hawkeyes stepped up. Guard Kael Combs entered Friday averaging 5.9 points per game but had 11 in the first half and 15 overall against Clemson, and forward Alvaro Folgueiras (8.1 PPG) dropped 14 points.
What’s next for Clemson basketball?
Godfrey, a senior, led Clemson with 15 points, but the Tigers once again lacked the elite shot-making a team needs to advance deep in March.
Three of Clemson’s four worst scoring outputs of the 2025-26 season wound up coming across its final five games (63 points in a March 3 loss to UNC and 61 points in its final two losses vs. Duke in the ACC Tournament and Iowa).
Long stretches without baskets sunk Clemson, which, along with Welling’s injury, played most of the season without standout freshman guard Zac Foster, a speedster who flashed lots of potential before tearing his ACL in December.
Still, one could argue Clemson overachieved this season after returning just one player who scored a basket for last year’s team (Hunter). The Tigers made a third straight NCAA Tournament for the first time under Brownell, and their 98 wins since 2022 are the most in a four-year stretch in program history.
“I give a lot of credit to our staff and to our players for finding different ways to win this year,” said Brownell, who fell to 6-6 in NCAA Tournament games during his time at Clemson.
Hunter and Godfrey, who played their final games in a Clemson uniform on Friday, agreed and said the Iowa loss, although frustrating, shouldn’t taint an objectively successful year for a program starting to become known for its consistency.
“At the beginning of the season, we weren’t expected to be here, so that put a lot of fire under us,” Hunter said. “... We’re just grateful.”
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 9:11 PM.
