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Iowa promises to pay a generous $450 for every $100 bet should they upset Florida in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
For those betting the spread, Iowa was listed as a +10 underdog.
The Hawkeyes, a No. 9 seed, are already somewhat of a giant killer, having beaten No. 8 seed Clemson.
Bennett Stirtz scored 16 points and No. 9 seed Iowa weathered his erratic shooting to hold off eighth-seeded Clemson 67-61 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
The Hawkeyes (22-12), making their March Madness debut under coach Ben McCollum, move on to a second-round South Region meeting against top-seeded and defending national champion Florida, which beat 16th-seeded Prairie View A&M by 59 points.
Stirtz made two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining help put the game away after Clemson (24-11) rallied within 61-57 in the closing minutes. But Iowa's leading scorer had an off night, going 3 for 10 on 3-point attempts and 1 for 7 inside the arc. Kael Combs kept the Hawkeyes stay afloat with 15 points and Alvaro Foigueiras came off the bench to score 14.
“That's kind of been us all year. We know we're not the most athletic team or talented team out there,” Stirtz said. “But I think we're the most together team, so there's that, and yeah, we love fighting together.”
No. 1 seed Florida obliterated Prairie View A&M on Friday, 114-55.
Boogie Fland scored 16 points to lead seven players in double figures for the top-seeded Gators (27-7), whose 59-point margin fell short of only Loyola Chicago's 111-42 win over Tennessee Tech in 1963.
- Ean Lamb, Gambling911.com
