Iowa men’s basketball team earns No. 5 seed in NCAA Tournament, will play Richmond on Thursday

Iowa won the Big Ten Tournament title by defeating Purdue, 75-66, in the conference championship game on Sunday.

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Dimia Burrell

Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon puts on a Big Ten Tournament Champion hat during a men’s basketball game between No. 5 Iowa and No. 3 Purdue in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament Championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Sunday, March 13, 2022. The Hawkeyes defeated the Boilermakers, 75-66. Bohannon scored 7 points. (Dimia Burrell/The Daily Iowan)

Robert Read, Pregame Editor
March 13, 2022

INDIANAPOLIS — The Iowa men’s basketball team is the No. 5 seed in the Midwest Region of the 2022 NCAA Tournament and will play Richmond in Buffalo, New York, in the first round of the tournament on Thursday.

Iowa won the Big Ten Tournament title by defeating Purdue, 75-66, in the conference championship game on Sunday. The Hawkeyes are now 26-9 on the season and have won 12 of their last 14 games. Richmond (23-12 this season) upset Davidson in the Atlantic 10 Tournament Championship Game to earn an automatic bid to “The Big Dance.” If Iowa wins, it would play No. 4 seed Providence or No. 13 seed South Dakota State in the second round. Kansas is the No. 1 seed in Iowa’s region.

This is Iowa’s 28th tournament appearance and its sixth in 12 years under head coach Fran McCaffery.

“Coach calls a lot of guys off the bench and they’re ready for their number to be called,” point guard Jordan Bohannon said. “I think that’s what makes our team special because we have a lot of guys that can step up. I think that’s why our conditioning level is so well because some guys can play their butts off for four to eight-minute stretches and then another line comes in. It’s been working for us and this three-day prep is — honestly, it’s a nice rest because we’ve had four games in four days, so I don’t think we’ll be too worried about it.”

Thursday will be the first meeting between the Hawkeyes and Spiders.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 2:10 p.m. CT and will air on truTV with Brad Nessler, Brendan Haywood, and Evan Washburn on the call.