The Iowa Hawkeyes have had a good turnaround in the 2025-26 season, after a disappointing 2024-25 season that ended with a 17-16 overall record. With two games left in their regular season, the Hawkeyes are eight on the Big Ten standings and have an overall record of 20-9 and a conference mark of 10-8.
However, they have a difficult final week, having to face the No. 3 Michigan Wolverines on Thursday and the No. 9 Nebraska Cornhuskers on Sunday. Both games, they’re likely to lose. Despite this, most mainstream bracket predictions are predicting them joining the Big Dance in March.
| Source | Projected Seed | Status |
| Inside the Hall | #9 Seed | In |
| On3 Sports | #8 Seed | In |
| TeamRankings | #10 Seed (Most Likely) | 93.5% Chance to Make Field |
| Joe Lunardi (ESPN) | #9 Seed | In |
Iowa’s Ben McCollum on How to Qualify for The NCAA Tournament
Iowa’s head coach, Ben McCollum, who is in his first year in charge of the program, will be the first to tell you that you shouldn’t pay that much attention to bracketology. Shortly before last week’s game against Ohio State, which ended in a 74-57 victory for the Hawkeyes, he explained the path to the NCAA Tournament as he sees it:
“I will tell you this, I’m no Joe Lunardi. But if we win the next game and then the next game and the next game and the next game, it’s going to give us a better chance to make the NCAA Tournament. I do know that.”
That day, his team seemed to hear him out, securing an important victory over the Buckeyes. However, they lost their following game against Penn State over the weekend, 71-69.
While their position is strong, a victory over a ranked opponent would certainly seal the Hawkeyes’ path into the NCAA Tournament. Iowa will have two chances to achieve this before the end of the season. While playing No. 3 Michigan and No. 9 Nebraska could be seen as a bit of bad luck in the last leg of their regular season, it could actually be a blessing in disguise.
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