This week presents a massive opportunity for the Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball program to strengthen its resume with the Acrisure Classic, giving them some games against quality opponents, starting with a game against the Ole Miss Rebels.
The Hawkeyes, under the tutelage of new head coach Ben McCollum, are sitting at 5-0 on the year, but have not been tested much, with their best win coming against Xavier. The other four wins are against Robert Morris, Western Illinois, Southeast Missouri, and Chicago State.
While the opponents haven’t been the hardest of tests, they have moved Iowa from the “Last Four Byes” group in the bracket to firmly in the field in ESPN’s newest NCAA Tournament Bracketology.
Iowa Hawkeyes‘ seed
- Seed: No. 10 seed
- Opponent: No. 7 Baylor Bears
Bracket
- No. 1 Purdue vs. No. 16 Long Island / No. 16 Norfolk State
- No. 8 USC vs. No. 9 Clemson
- No. 5 Kentucky vs. No. 12 Akron
- No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 13 High Point
- No. 6 Kansas vs. No. 11 Liberty
- No. 3 Florida vs. No. 14 Troy
- No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 10 Iowa
- No. 2 Louisville vs. No. 15 Florida Gulf Coast
Top Seeds:
- No. 1 seeds: Purdue, Arizona, Duke, Houston
- No. 2 seeds: Louisville, Gonzaga, UConn, Michigan
- No. 3 seeds: Florida, Illinois, Michigan State, BYU
- No. 4 seeds: Alabama, Tennessee, Iowa State, St. John’s
Bubble Watch
- Last Four Byes: Clemson, Nebraska, Virginia, Creighton
- Last Four In: Texas, Georgetown, SMU, Georgia
- First Four Out: Villanova, San Diego State, Cincinnati, Oklahoma State
- Next Four Out:Kansas State, Miami, Oklahoma, Santa Clara
Conference Breakdown
- Big Ten: 12
- SEC: 11
- Big 12: 7
- ACC: 7
- Big East: 4
- WCC: 2
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball inches higher in ESPN NCAA Tournament Bracketology
