TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Bennett Stirtz scored 16 points and No. 9 seed Iowa weathered his erratic shooting to hold off eighth-seeded Clemson 67-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
The Hawkeyes (22-12), making their March Madness debut under coach Ben McCollum, move on to a second-round South Region meeting against top-seeded and defending national champion Florida, which beat 16th-seeded Prairie View A&M by 59 points.
Stirtz made two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining help put the game away after Clemson (24-11) rallied within 61-57 in the closing minutes. But Iowa's leading scorer had an off night, going 3 for 10 on 3-point attempts and 1 for 7 inside the arc. Kael Combs kept the Hawkeyes stay afloat with 15 points and Alvaro Foigueiras came off the bench to score 14.
“That's kind of been us all year. We know we're not the most athletic team or talented team out there,” Stirtz said. “But I think we're the most together team, so there's that, and yeah, we love fighting together.”
RJ Godfrey led Clemson with 15 points.
Iowa led 32-25 at halftime despite Stirtz not getting off to a strong start. The 6-foot-4 senior who accompanied McCollum from Drake to Iowa misfired on four of his five 3-point attempts and was 2 for 8 from the field for eight points. The Hawkeyes, however, were able to use the one 3-pointer he made — along with a pair of them from Combs — to build a 12-point lead that Clemson began cutting into before the break.
Stirtz made a long 3 to begin the second half, but Iowa proceeded to go nearly six minutes without scoring while Clemson pulled within 35-33. Stirtz stopped the surge with his third 3, Iowa methodically expanded its lead to 51-37, and Clemson never fully recovered.
The Tigers, who reached the Elite Eight in 2024, lost to McNeese in the first round a year ago.
“You know, I'm anxious to watch the film and just see what happened,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell said. “Certainly some long shots by them, long rebounds. ... I'm sure there's a couple that bounced their way. Those 50-50 balls you need to get to win, we just weren't as hungry as we needed to be.”
While this is Iowa's first March Madness appearance since 2023, Stirtz, Combs, Tavion Banks and Cam Manyawu were all part of the Drake team that McCollum led to an upset of Missouri in the first round last year.
Iowa finished 7 of 25 (28%) from 3-point range. Clemson wasn't much better, making 9 of 26 (35%).
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
Only subscribers can view and post comments on articles.
Already a subscriber? Login Here
Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, is a fas… Read moreAragon High School Theatre presents "Puffs"
Exclusive film screening in San Mateo Read moreA LITTLE FELLOW: THE LEGACY OF A.P.GIANNINI
Join us for an unforgettable evening as we set sail into the world of luxury river cruising!… Read moreLegendary Rivers & Tours Expo
Planning your dream wedding? Discover everything you need at the Wedding Fair in the Park – … Read moreWedding Fair in the Park
CA Is Burning said:
They ignored the danger, even after repeated complaints.
CA Is Burning said:
Dirk van Ulden said:
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.