NCAA TOURNAMENT BRACKET NEWS: IOWA HAWKEYES EARN NO. 7 SEED, WILL PLAY TEMPLE

For the second consecutive season, the Iowa Hawkeyes have earned a seven seed in the South Region of next week's NCAA Tournament.  The Hawkeyes have been drawn against Temple, out of the American Conference, on Friday.  Friday's game tips off at 2:10 PM CT, with TV coverage from Tru TV.

Should Iowa win its first game, Fran McCaffery's squad will face the winner of Villanova and UNC Asheville on Sunday.  Iowa's first two games will be played in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.  The South Regional semifinals and final are to be played in Louisville.  Move your feet.  Feel united.

Temple finished its season 21-11 and won the AAC regular season title, but went just 6-6 in the nonconference and finished ranked No. 88 in Kenpom.  The Owls are one of the slowest-tempo teams in the nation, and turn the ball over rarely (Temple committed a turnover on just 14 percent of possessions, second nationally).  However, Temple is not a particularly good shooting team -- their effective field goal rate is just 47 percent -- and they lack Iowa's interior size.  Temple's starting center, senior Jaylen Bond, is just 6'8.  At first blush, it's a good matchup for the Hawkeyes; Temple isn't very good at the stuff that Iowa struggles to stop, like perimeter shooting and guard penetration.

Iowa has made the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, the first time the program has accomplished that feat since 1993.  Yes, the last month has sucked, but not enough to overshadow the miles this team has traveled from its low point six years ago.  Let's dance, people.