Over and out: Clemson basketball drops opening NCAA Tournament game vs. Iowa

Chapel Fowler, The State on Mar 20, 2026

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TAMPA, Fla. — 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 Friday and dropped their opening NCAA Tournament, 67-61, to Iowa at Benchmark International Arena.

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 Sunday in Tampa.

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 wins but lost to No. 12 McNeese State in the first round.

Clemson trailed Iowa by 14 points (54-40) with 7:32 left in the game before cutting its deficit to four points (61-57) after guard Ace Buckner’s layup with 1:28 remaining. But Iowa guard Kael Combs made a tough layup on the other end to put his team back up six points (63-57) with 56 seconds left.

Iowa extended its lead to eight points (65-57) with two free throws. Clemson hit a 3-pointer to cut Iowa’s lead to 65-60 with 16 seconds left, but another successful free throw trip from the Hawkeyes iced Friday’s game.

Game recap

Last year, Clemson went one-and-done in the NCAA Tournament and lost to No. 12 McNeese State as a No. 5 seed. The defining stat of that upset loss: The Tigers scored just 13 points in the first half, one of the worst outputs in tournament history.

Early in Friday’s first half against Iowa fans, some Clemson fans were getting déjà vu as the Tigers missed 12 of their first 15 shot attempts and got 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.

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.

Forward RJ Godfrey’s layup cut Clemson’s deficit to just two points, 35-33, with 14 minutes left. Iowa held strong, though, and went up 14 points with 7:32 left.

The Tigers hit four straight shots to cut their deficit to six points but struggled on the glass and got into the bonus early, leading to a ton of Iowa free throw attempts that allowed the Hawkeyes to pad their lead and come out on top.

Clemson didn’t lead at any point in the game en route to another one-and-done NCAA Tournament showing. It’s now been two years since the Tigers’ last win in the Big Dance (2024 Sweet 16 vs. Arizona).