Iowa's B1G Tournament Seed Finalized No Matter Nebraska Result

While a win over one of their greatest rivals would certainly be a big boost going into the postseason, the Iowa Hawkeyes seed in the B1G Tournament has already been finalized.

Ohio State defended their home court against Indiana, 91-78, solidifying the Buckeyes as No. 8 while the Hawkeyes drop to the No. 9 seed.

That news means Iowa will not receive a double-bye. Instead, they'll open tournament play on March 11 against, in all likelihood, Ohio State.

The bye would've given the Hawkeyes an extra day of rest, but instead they'll face either No. 16 Oregon or No. 17 Maryland in the second round, no matter what happens against Nebraska.

Iowa Can't Look Past Nebraska

MBB Update: Ohio State defeats Indiana, which means the #Hawkeyes will be the No. 9 seed in the Big Ten Tournament in Chicago.

Iowa will play either Maryland/Oregon at 11 a.m. on Wednesday. Still a big game in Lincoln tomorrow.
— Brad Schultz (@BradMSchultz) March 8, 2026

Even though the B1G Tournament is right around the corner, Iowa is arguably in the midst of their worst stretch of the season. If there was ever a time for first year head coach Ben McCollum's squad to collapse, now is certainly not the time.

It's worth noting Iowa took down Nebraska, the No. 9 ranked team, 57-52, at Carver back on February 17. Now, the team's are set for a rematch that takes place on the Cornhuskers soil.

Unlike Iowa, Nebraska has won three of their last four. Their coming off a horrific 20 point loss at unranked UCLA, something that is hard to fathom as Iowa took down the Bruins to kick off 2026, 74-61. The Hawkeyes hosting UCLA may have played into that result, but it's still an odd loss for the Cornhuskers at this point in the season.

All About Building Momentum

Note that Ohio State's win over Indiana has no impact on the projected Big Ten Tournament bracket. The next game that could disrupt the allignment below is UCLA (-6.5) at USC, which tips at 9 p.m.

Also note that Iowa is now locked in as the No. 9 seed. https://t.co/MBRtkbTevU
— Spartans Illustrated (@Spartans_Illo) March 8, 2026

McCollum's squad competed until the very end against No. 3 Michigan, though there's no doubt the better team prevailed. Iowa came up short, falling 71-68 for another heartbreaking loss. Time and time again they've competed against ranked teams, but the only one they've gotten the better of is Nebraska.

That said, Iowa has dropped three of their last four since that win. Their lone victory in that stretch just so happened to come against Ohio State, a team they'll likely see again on March 12. Even though Iowa beat OSU, they'll finish with 11 conference wins, should they beat Nebraska, which is still one fewer than the Buckeyes (12-8).

It's not like Iowa has nothing to play for, far from it, but earning the No. 8 seed would've been some extra motivation. No matter what, McCollum needs to have this squad fired up as this is a rivalry game and could be yet another statement win for Iowa, something they desperately need going into the tournament.

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