After splitting the opening week of their 2025-26 Big Ten regular season slate, where did No. 25-ranked Iowa basketball (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten) fit in CBS’s latest bracketology projections?
While a large portion of the season remains in front of them, Hawkeyes fans should still be very optimistic about the program’s ability to compete with the rest of the conference and others across the nation.
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According to CBS’s Dec. 5 update to its NCAA Tournament bracketology projections, the Hawkeyes reside at the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region (Chicago). Within the Midwest region, Michigan is predicted to hold the No. 1 seed and also earn the tournament’s top overall seed.
Dec 6, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) passes the ball during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
In CBS’s projection, Iowa would open the tournament with a first-round matchup against No. 7 seed and defending national champion Florida at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Okla.
The remainder of the hypothetical pod in Oklahoma City would include the No. 2 seed, UConn, and the No. 15 seed, St. Thomas (Minn.).
As a whole, the Hawkeyes would join nine other Big Ten programs in the tournament field, including No. 1 Michigan (Midwest), No. 1 Purdue (South), No. 2 Michigan State (West), No. 3 Illinois (East), No. 7 Nebraska (East), No. 7 USC (South), No. 9 Indiana (East), No. 9 UCLA (West), and No. 10 Wisconsin (West).
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With a heavyweight Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series clash upcoming against No. 9 Iowa State (9-0) from Hilton Colosseum in Ames, Iowa, on Tuesday, Dec. 9, Iowa will have an excellent opportunity to improve its predicted tournament seed.
Below is how the remainder of CBS’s bracketology projections reads:
Projected Bracket Seeding
|
Seed |
Midwest |
East |
South |
West |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Michigan |
Purdue |
Arizona |
|
|
2 |
UConn |
BYU |
Michigan State |
|
|
3 |
Iowa State |
Vanderbilt |
Gonzaga |
|
|
4 |
Houston |
Illinois |
Kansas |
Louisville |
|
5 |
Virginia |
|||
|
6 |
St. John’s |
Arkansas |
Texas Tech |
|
|
7 |
Florida |
Nebraska |
USC |
|
|
8 |
Utah State |
Saint Mary’s |
TCU |
|
|
9 |
Oklahoma State |
Indiana |
SMU |
UCLA |
|
10 |
Iowa |
NC State |
Wisconsin/Saint Louis |
|
|
11 |
Missouri/Baylor |
Dayton |
Akron |
Yale |
|
12 |
Colorado State |
Utah Valley |
McNeese State |
High Point |
|
13 |
Liberty |
Northern Colorado |
UC-Irvine |
UNC-Wilmington |
|
14 |
Bradley |
Marist |
Arkansas State |
Colgate |
|
15 |
St. Thomas (Minn.) |
Wright State |
North Texas |
Central Connecticut State |
|
16 |
Florida Gulf Coast |
Vermont |
Samford/Little Rock |
Norflk State/Bethune-Cookman |
On the bubble
Last four in
MissouriBaylorWisconsinSaint Louis
First four out
Seton HallSanta ClaraMiamiOklahoma
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Where was Iowa basketball in the latest CBS bracketology?
