By Dallas Jones

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Iowa Hawkeyes men’s hoops will face-off against the Auburn Tigers (20-12, 10-8), who finished seventh in the SEC regular season standings. The teams will play in the Midwest Region, with the opening round played in Birmingham, Alabama.

For the third straight season, and for the seventh time under Fran McCaffery, the Iowa men’s basketball team has earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Auburn’s Head Coach Bruce Pearl was an assistant coach at Iowa under Tom Davis from 1986-1992. Iowa assistant coach Matt Gatens was also a graduate assistant at Auburn the 2017-18 season.

But now the question is which Hawkeye team will show up to the Big Dance?

The one that erased an 11-point deficit with less than a minute to play against Michigan State before winning in overtime, and that crushed Indiana by 22 points on the road?

Or the one that lost to Nebraska on Senior Day, and that lost to Ohio State in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament this past Thursday?

Full Midwest Region bracket here:

The Midwest Region is set 🏀

The No. 1 seed is @UHCougarMBK. pic.twitter.com/mxOmZwTYyS

— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 12, 2023