Ben Mccollum and Iowa, after the first-round breakthrough

ben mccollum has Iowa moving on in March Madness after the Hawkeyes held off eighth-seeded Clemson 67-61 in the first round Friday night in Tampa, Florida. The win sends No. 9 seed Iowa into a second-round South Region meeting against top-seeded and defending national champion Florida.

What happens when Ben Mccollum’s Iowa survives a late push?

Iowa’s path to the finish was anything but smooth, but it was decisive when it mattered. Bennett Stirtz scored 16 points as the Hawkeyes weathered an uneven shooting night from their leading scorer and still found enough timely baskets and free throws to close out Clemson.

Stirtz’s final two free throws came with 10. 9 seconds remaining, helping put the game away after Clemson trimmed the margin to 61-57 in the closing minutes. Stirtz finished with a difficult shooting line: 3-for-10 from 3-point range and 1-for-7 inside the arc.

Iowa built separation in waves. The Hawkeyes led 32-25 at halftime even as Stirtz struggled early, misfiring on four of five 3-point attempts and going 2-for-8 from the field for eight points in the first half. Still, a Stirtz 3-pointer and a pair from Kael Combs helped Iowa stretch the lead to 12 before Clemson began cutting into it.

After halftime, Stirtz opened the second half with a long 3, but Iowa then went nearly six minutes without scoring as Clemson pulled within 35-33. Iowa stabilized again when Stirtz hit his third 3-pointer, and the Hawkeyes later methodically expanded the lead to 51-37. Clemson made another run, but could not fully recover.

What if the supporting cast becomes the stabilizer?

Iowa’s ability to stay afloat during scoring droughts and shooting swings rested heavily on secondary contributions. Combs scored 15 points, and Alvaro Folgueiras came off the bench to add 14. Those two lines mattered in a game where Iowa did not shoot well from the perimeter, finishing 7-for-25 (28%) from three.

The broader shooting picture was similarly uneven for Clemson, which went 9-for-26 (35%) from 3-point range. Clemson coach Brad Brownell pointed to long rebounds and contested plays, saying he wanted to review film to understand the sequence of events, including “50-50 balls” that Iowa reached more often down the stretch.

For Iowa, the win also extends a familiar March template around cohesion and resilience. After the game, Stirtz framed Iowa’s identity as a group that fights together, even without being “the most athletic team or talented team out there. ” In this one, that meant absorbing cold stretches, then responding with enough shot-making and composure to keep the advantage.

The tournament moment also carries added context for the current roster. While this is Iowa’s first March Madness appearance since 2023, Stirtz, Combs, Tavion Banks and Cam Manyawu were part of the Drake team that Ben McCollum led to an upset of Missouri in the first round last year. That shared experience did not erase the volatility of Friday night, but Iowa did not fold when Clemson made its push.

What happens next after ben mccollum’s first NCAA tournament win at Iowa?

The immediate next step is a second-round South Region matchup against Florida, the top seed and defending national champion. Florida advanced by defeating 16th-seeded Prairie View A& M by 59 points, setting up a steep test for Iowa.

From Iowa’s perspective, the first-round victory offered a clear blueprint for how wins can materialize even when the top scorer is not in rhythm: get enough from multiple scorers, survive droughts without panic, and finish possessions. Friday’s game included several swing moments—an early halftime cushion built despite Stirtz’s slow start, a second-half Clemson surge that narrowed the game to two points, and an Iowa response that pushed the lead back out to 14.

The challenge now is that the margin for error tends to shrink as opponents get stronger. Iowa’s 3-point percentage against Clemson was low, and the Hawkeyes will need to manage similar stretches against a high-powered opponent without allowing the game to tilt too far. Still, the first-round result established the most important fact: ben mccollum has Iowa advancing, and the Hawkeyes have earned the right to test themselves against the tournament’s top line.