The 2026 NCAA Tournament continues with an intriguing second-round matchup on Sunday night, as the defending champion and No. 1 seed Florida faces No. 9 Iowa in the South Region. Florida dominated in its March Madness opener, destroying 16-seed Prairie View A&M by 59 points with a 114-55 score. Meanwhile, Iowa had a hard-fought 67-61 victory over No. 8 Clemson. Only one defending champion has advanced past the second round over the last eight NCAA Tournaments. The Hawkeyes are seeking their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999.<\/p>\n
Tipoff from the Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla., is at 7:10 p.m. ET. This will me the first matchup between the programs. The Gators are 10.5-point favorites in the latest Florida vs. Iowa odds, while the over\/under is 145.5. The Gators are at -575 on the money line (risk $575 to win $100). Before making any Iowa vs. Florida picks,\u00a0check out the Florida vs. Iowa predictions from the SportsLine Projection Model<\/a>.<\/p>\n The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times. It entered the 2026 NCAA Tournament on a sizzling 11-1 run on its top-rated over\/under college basketball picks dating back to last season, and is on a 28-22 run on top-rated CBB side picks.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now, the model has simulated Iowa vs. Florida<\/a>\u00a010,000 times and just revealed its college basketball picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model’s picks<\/a>. Here are several college basketball odds<\/a> and college basketball lines for Florida vs. Iowa:<\/p>\n Iowa vs. Florida spread:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Florida -10.5<\/p>\n Iowa vs. Florida over\/under:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 145.5 points <\/p>\n Iowa vs. Florida money line:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Florida -575, Iowa +420<\/p>\n Iowa vs. Florida picks:\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n See picks at SportsLine<\/a><\/p>\n Iowa vs. Florida TV:<\/p>\n TBS<\/p>\n Top Florida vs. Iowa predictions<\/p>\n After 10,000 simulations of Iowa vs. Florida, SportsLine’s model is going Over on the total (145.5 points). The Over has gone 20-14 in Hawkeyes games this season, including hitting in three of their last four outings. Meanwhile, Gators games have eclipsed the total in back-to-back matchups, and the Over is 4-2 over Florida’s last six games overall, in addition to being 4-2 in Florida’s last six versus non-SEC opponents. Iowa also has a tendency to engage in high-scoring games versus potent offenses like what Florida possesses as the Over is 14-5 when the Hawkeyes play teams that average more than 72 ppg.<\/p>\n The Hawkeyes are projected to have the leading scorer in Bennett Stirtz, who tops 20 points. However, Florida is forecasted to have twice as many players score in double-figures than Iowa. The model sees the O\/U being surpassed by double-digit points, projecting 156 combined points, as the Over hits in 77.7% of simulations.\u00a0You can get the spread pick at SportsLine<\/a>.<\/p>\n How to make Iowa vs. Florida picks<\/p>\n Now, the model simulated every possession of Florida vs. Iowa 10,000 times and says one side of the spread hits well over 60% of the time.\u00a0You can only see that pick at SportsLine<\/a>.<\/p>\n