ESPN Predicts Early Exit for Clemson Tigers in NCAA Tournament

The No. 8 seed Clemson Tigers open the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 6:50 p.m. EST in Tampa, Fla. against the No. 9-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes.

Clemson finished 12-6 in ACC play and had a strong run in the ACC Tournament with wins over Wake Forest and No. 19 UNC before falling to eventual champion Duke.

Iowa finished the season 3-10, including a second-round exit to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament. Overall, they were also 12-6 in conference play.

Despite being the higher seed, ESPN calls the Hawkeyes a 2.5-point favorite over Clemson, and Jay Bilas predicts an early exit for the Tigers in the South Region.

"The Tigers are big and well-coached, but the Hawkeyes have Bennett Stirtz, one of the best shotmakers in college basketball, who is averaging 20.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists. Take Iowa," Bilas wrote on ESPN.

Zach Koons of Sports Illustrated is also very high on Stirtz and is a big reason he ranks the Clemson/Iowa matchup one of the best in the first round.

"College basketball fans got their first main look at Bennett Stirtz in last year’s NCAA tournament when No. 11 Drake upset No. 6 Missouri in the opening round," Koons wrote on SI. "Well, now he’s averaging 20 points per game for the Hawkeyes alongside coach Ben McCollum and there’s a chance he’s poised for an even bigger postseason. Clemson has no player that can go toe-to-toe with Stirtz and will rely heavily on its defense to try and keep pace in this game."

Clemson relies on a more balanced approach to win games. RJ Harvey leads the team with just 11.9 points per game. The Tigers have no one over 12 points per game, but they have nine players who average at least five.

Rebounding is similarly spread across the team, though season leader Carter Welling at 5.4 will miss the tournament with a knee injury.

The loss of Welling may have played into Bilas' prediction for the Tigers to have an early exit, but he sums up each teams' chances succinctly in his conclusion about the game.

"Neither beats Florida, anyway," Bilas wrote flatly.

The Gators are the No. 1 seed in the region and are the defending NCAA Tournament champion. They were 16-2 in SEC play and were cruising through the SEC Tournament before being shocked by Vanderbilt 91-74.

Clemson and Iowa tip off at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa at 6:50 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on TNT.