Iowa Hoops: previewing Hawks/Gators, how to watch, & fan discussion

The 9-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (22-12, 10-10) take on the 1-seeded, and defending national champions, Florida Gators (27-7, 16-2) this evening in Tampa, FL. It’s the first chance Iowa’s got of getting to the Sweet 16 since 2021 and it is a slim one. Team Rankings gives the Hawks about a 20% chance while KenPom has it at 25%. As has been the common refrain throughout many upset storylines – all it takes is the 1 out of a 1/4 shot to advance.

The odds are well-founded, as few teams enter the NCAA Tournament as hot as the Gators, with a 17-2 record since a conference-opening loss at Missouri. If there’s anything to discount that, it’s that KenPom has the Gators as the SEC’s only top 10 team (5), though there are four more rated in the top 20.

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Iowa, of course, is winless against KenPom top 10 teams (0-6) with #12 Nebraska being Iowa’s best win according to the metric. Only two have been blowouts, with Iowa sticking around against ISU, Illinois, Purdue (the first time), and Michigan.

The key for the Hawks will be preventing runs. Here’s what KenPom has for runs given up in their top 10 matchups:

24-4 & 12-2 at Michigan State

KenPom clocked Florida’s runs against Prairie View A&M at 45-6 (to close the first half), 14-2, and 13-1. They are a LOAD.

In the games where Iowa’s had their best chance to knock off top teams, they’ve been able to put together runs of their own. 13-2 at ISU, 10-0 at Purdue, and two 11-1 runs v Michigan allowed the Hawks to stick around at the end.

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The other thing that sticks out about Florida is their size: they’ve started essentially the same lineup in all 34 games to this point and go: 6’9” Thomas Haugh, 6’11” Reuben Chinyelu, and 6’11” Alex Condon. Each of them average over 11 points and 6 rebounds. And if that isn’t enough, 7’1” Micah Handlogten comes off the bench.

The Gators use their size to lock down the glass, with top 10 rankings in offensive & defensive rebounding rate so Iowa’s ability…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/iowa-hoops-previewing-hawks-gators-155900501.html

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Publish date : 2026-03-22 15:59:00

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