Sean Paul, a national college basketball writer for The Field of 68, called Iowa's first round matchup against Clemson the least interesting first round game.
Sean Paul, a national college basketball writer for The Field of 68 and Action Network, called the Iowa-Clemson game the least interesting matchup of the first round. Paul praised the NCAA selection committee for pairing both squads together in the same matchup, while also saying that neither team has a chance to take down No. 1 seed and defending national champion Florida in a potential Round of 32 matchup.
The move offended many loyal Hawkeye fans, who replied to Paul's tweet with expletive-laced messages defending their team.
According to Paul, one of the 8/9 NCAA tournament games features two teams that don't fare well with the No. 1 seed. Paul is correct based off of last year's bracket, but ninth-seeded Baylor was the lone team to put up little resistance against the No. 1 seed - losing to Duke by 23 points.
That may very well be the case again this year, but No. 8 or No. 9 seeds have been known to bust this bracket in recent tournaments. Gonzaga, Creighton, and UConn each gave their respective top seeds a run for their money last season, and Florida Atlantic and Arkansas each made the second weekend in 2023 - with FAU going all the way to the Final Four, the second No. 9 seed to do so.
Beating Florida will be no easy task for the winner of the Iowa-Clemson game, but this 8/9 game has the potential to be a good one. Hawkeye star Bennett Stirtz is one of the nation's most electric and talented guards, and the Tigers are no stranger to deep runs in this tournament - having made the Elite Eight just two years ago.
Friday's tip off is set for 5:50 CDT on TNT.
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