2023 March Madness 1st round bracket breakdown: Midwest Region
No.8 Iowa vs. No. 9 Auburn聽
The Hawkeyes and head coach Fran McCaffery head into the Tournament as a No. 8 seed after appearing as a No. 5 in 2020. The team is led by junior guard Kris Murray, the brother of former Hawkeye standout Keegan Murray, who averages 20.4 points and 7.9 rebounds. Iowa has the offensive capabilities to win as the in the nation averaging 80.2 points. However, the Hawkeyes also struggle on defense, giving up 74 points a game.聽
The Auburn Tigers were a No. 2 seed last year under Bruce Pearl, and now they鈥檙e heading into March Madness as a No. 9 seed after losing eight of their last 11 regular season games. Pearl鈥檚 team beat Tennessee to cap off their regular season but fell to Arkansas in the first round of the SEC Tournament and will now look to center Johni Broome, who has averaged 14 points this season, to lead the team past Iowa. If Auburn can hold the Hawkeyes at bay, it could move on to have a potential matchup with No. 1 seed Houston.聽
