Slow Start Sends Clemson Basketball Out of NCAA Tournament in Iowa Loss

TAMPA, Fla. — An early first-half deficit saw the Clemson men’s basketball team end its season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to the No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes 67-60 on Friday night.

Head coach Brad Brownell and his team fell behind by double-digits within the first seven minutes to play from behind the entire game. From an Iowa offense led by Second Team All-Big 10 guard Bennett Stirtz, the Tigers couldn’t mount a comeback.

Despite three consecutive seasons of making the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers couldn’t keep dancing, making it back-to-back seasons of being first-round exits following the historic Elite Eight run in 2023-24.

The Tigers had a strong effort to get back to a one-possession game in the second half, but the Hawkeyes had another reason. A 9-0 run put Clemson at an uphill battle once again, and it couldn’t come back to end its 2025-26 season.

Iowa’s 15 offensive rebounds elongated possessions, kept the Tigers frustrated and put them behind for nearly the entire contest. Despite fights to cut the lead to two possessions throughout the second half, a Hawkeye hustle play would keep the lead for over 39 minutes of the game.

Clemson had a similar first half to that of its NCAA Tournament game last season: a slow, frustrating 20 minutes. Several scoring droughts allowed Iowa to play its tactical, slow offense to mount a lead as much as 12 at the 8:26 mark in the first half.

Then, Butta Johnson brought the noise. Two back-to-back threes later, and Clemson began to shoot the ball a lot better to end the half. Going into the break, the Tigers didn’t get every stop, but they trailed by seven and finished the half making five of their last six shots.

The Hawkeyes outrebounded Clemson 40-27 in the loss. Foul trouble was an issue for the Tigers, as Iowa shot 19 more free throws in Tampa and scored 16 more on Friday night despite shooting better clips than Iowa.

In his final game in a Clemson uniform, RJ Godfrey led the scoring with 15 points, three assists and seven rebounds. He led the team in all three of those statistics. Johnson finished with 11 points and a trio of three-pointers in the loss.

The loss ends a 2025-26 season that saw Clemson have plenty of highs throughout the season, but it will end with only one game in the Big Dance in March. Now, head coach Brad Brownell will go into the offseason looking to retain across the roster while adding pieces to the transfer portal over the spring.