The Iowa men’s basketball team’s two road matchups against top-five opponents this week are the final games the Hawkeyes play in February. But, while it’s not quite March yet, bracketology has already begun.

Heading into its Thursday meeting with No. 3 Michigan at 6 p.m. in Ann Arbor, followed by a Sunday game in Columbus with No. 4 Ohio State at 3 p.m., No. 9 Iowa is positioned as a two-seed in the NCAA Tournament by ESPN’s bracket guru Joe Lunardi.

Both the Wolverines (16-1 overall, 11-1 Big Ten) and the Buckeyes (18-5, 12-5) are currently one-seeds in Lunardi’s bracket. And that’s where the Hawkeyes (17-6, 11-5) want to be.

“We’re kind of fighting with them for a spot that we believe that we still deserve, a one seed,” said senior point guard Jordan Bohannon, who is three assists shy of breaking the program record. “… From my perspective, it’s going to be a lock for us to get a one seed if we win both of these games. That’s the kind of opportunity we have ahead of us, but we have to take care of Michigan first and do what we can to try to stop that team.”

Iowa already lost to Ohio State earlier this season despite leading the Buckeyes by 11 points in the second half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Thursday will be Iowa’s only meeting with Michigan, the team at the top of the conference’s standings, this regular season. The Hawkeyes split with the Wolverines last season, including a 12-point loss at the Crisler Center despite a 44-point performance from Luka Garza.

Garza — who just became the Iowa men’s basketball program’s all-time leading scorer — scored 77 total points in two meetings against Michigan in 2019-20, and currently leads the nation scoring 24.7 points per game. The 6-foot-11 senior is set up, like in most games in the Big Ten, for a challenging opponent in the post against Michigan. And a very familiar one.

RELATED: Luka Garza: The Iowa men’s basketball program’s humble, team-driven all-time leading scorer

Hunter Dickinson, a 7-foot-1, 255-pound freshman center, is making an impact in his first season with the Wolverines. The left-hander leads Michigan in scoring (15), rebounds (7.8), and blocks (1.6) per game and has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week seven times.

“He could be the top freshman in the country right now,” head coach Fran McCaffery said.

Garza and Dickinson — both natives of Washington, D.C. — have battled in the paint before, but Thursday on ESPN will be the first time they’ve done so in front of a national audience.

The two centers attended opposing schools in the D.C. area. During this past offseason, Garza and Dickinson worked out with each other.

“We’ve played against each other a lot,” Garza said. “He definitely knows my game. But they’re going to prepare for me like every team and watch film, so he’s going to have that [advantage] as well. And I’ll have the same thing. We both know each other’s games pretty well.”

Iowa, a team with the most efficient offense in the country that was held back by poor defense at points early in the season, has held five-straight opponents under 70 points. McCaffery has attributed the improved defensive play to playing more man-to-man defense and knowing when to switch up looks.

But stopping the Wolverines will be a challenge.

With Dickinson as a force on both ends of the court, Michigan is ranked sixth-best offensively and 11th-best defensively by the KenPom efficiency tracking system. Defensive challenges will also be present against Ohio State, which holds the third-most efficient offense in the nation.

“These are two opportunities for us to get a lot better,” Garza said. “… It’s really going to test our defense. I think that’s the biggest thing for us, to continue the consistency on the defensive end.”

Iowa has already defeated an NCAA-leading six top-25 opponents this season. Picking up one or two more this week will go a long way into improving the team’s tournament résumé.

The four Hawkeye tournament teams under McCaffery have been seven seeds twice, a 10-seed, and an 11-seed. Iowa is in prime position to secure, and possibly elevate, its positioning in this four-day stretch — the first time the program has played two top-10 teams in a seven day span since the 2012-13 season.

And that starts with Michigan.

“It’s going to come down to locking in defensively, because they have so many threats that can score the ball and guys that can drive the lane and pass,” shooting guard Joe Wieskamp said. “They’re definitely a complete team, and it’s going to take a full 40 minutes for us to get the job done.”