There was a wave of excitement that took over Auburn’s locker room when the CBS broadcast revealed the Tigers as the ninth seed in the Midwest Region, with their opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament slated for Birmingham.

It never gets old, seeing the team name flash on the official bracket; it’s a validation of a year of work for players and coaches alike — even when NCAA Tournament trips become more commonplace, as has been the case for Auburn of late under Bruce Pearl. The Tigers are making their fourth March Madness appearance in the last five postseasons and second in a row; the program had eight total tournament appearances in its history prior to 2018.

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“I’ve always believed in life, it’s easier to get it going than it is to keep it going,” Pearl said. “And so, I’m glad we have this opportunity.”

That opportunity will take Auburn for a quick jaunt up Highway 280, where it will face a rather unfamiliar opponent in the opening round at Legacy Arena. Auburn (20-12) will face eighth-seeded Iowa (19-13) on Thursday at 5:50 p.m., with the game airing on TNT. The matchup will mark the first ever between the two programs on the hardwood.

Understandably, after the initial excitement subsided Sunday evening at Neville Arena, Auburn’s players began to wonder about their unfamiliar opponent. Pearl and his staff had yet to get a chance to dig deep on the Hawkeyes, but he knew one thing right away that he relayed to his team.

“Just right off the bat, (I told them) that they were one of the best offensive teams in the country,” Pearl said. “There have been times this year where we’ve been good defensively, but there have been times where we haven’t. So, we’re going to have to find a way to guard them. But they were very excited.”

Just how good have the Hawkeyes been on offense? According to KenPom, Iowa is third nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency (120.5 points per 100 possessions, adjusted for tempo). The Hawkeyes, led by 13th-year head coach Fran McCaffery, are averaging 80.6 points per game, which is 17th-best in the country this season. Leading scorer Kris Murray averages 20.4 points per game, which is good for the 21st-best mark in Division I this year.

Here’s what else you need to know about Auburn’s opening-round opponent, starting with Iowa’ NCAA team sheet:

— Iowa enters the tournament with a 19-13 overall record that included an 11-9 mark in Big Ten play during the regular season. The Hawkeyes finished fifth in the Big Ten this season and lost their opening game of the conference tournament to 13th-seeded Ohio State last week.

— Iowa’s best win of the season was at home against Iowa State on Dec. 8. The Cyclones finished the year ranked 20th in NET, and the Hawkeyes won that game, 75-56.

— Iowa’s best road win this year is against Indiana on Feb. 28. The Hoosiers are ranked 30th in the NET.

— Iowa’s worst loss came in nonconference play, when it fell to Eastern Illinois at home on Dec. 21. Eastern Illinois, which is ranked 344th in NET, won that game 92-83. It’s Iowa’s only Quad 4 loss of the season.

— Fran McCaffery is in his 13th season as head coach at Iowa, where he has gone 259-171, winning 60.2 percent of his games with the Hawkeyes. McCaffery has led Iowa to the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three postseasons (there was no tournament in 2020 due to the pandemic), and the program is making its seventh March Madness appearance overall during his tenure — though the Hawkeyes have never made it out of the opening weekend during that stretch.

“(He’s a) veteran that’s been there and done that,” Pearl said. “One of the most competitive, hardworking, great family man, great father, great teacher as head coach, and a brilliant offensive tactician.”

— Along with being third in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency, according to KenPom, Iowa is 37th in adjusted efficiency margin (plus-15.6). By comparison, Auburn enters the tournament 29th in adjusted efficiency margin (plus-17.45).

— For as good as Iowa has been offensively this season, the same can’t be said for its defense. The Hawkeyes are 167th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency (104.9), per KenPom. Opponents average 74.4 points per game while shooting 47.4 percent against Iowa this season, the latter of which is tied for the 14th-worst mark nationally and the second-worst among NCAA Tournament teams (only 16th-seeded Fairleigh Dickinson allows teams to shoot at a higher clip than Iowa this season). Iowa also allows teams to hit 36.6 percent of their 3-point attempts, which is the 30th-highest mark in the country.

— Iowa is 1-3 this season in neutral-site games, with the lone win coming against Clemson the day after Thanksgiving in the Emerald Coast Classic in Niceville, Fla.

— The Hawkeyes have five players who average double-figure scoring this season: Kris Murray (20.4 points per game), Philip Rebraca (14.1), Tony Perkins (12.5), Patrick McCaffery (10) and Payton Sandfort (10).

— Iowa leading scorer Kris Murray is a first-team All-Big Ten selection and earned third-team All-America honors from Sporting News. Pearl recruited Murray’s father, Kenyon Murray, to Iowa in the early 1990s when Pearl was on Tom Davis’ staff.

— Speaking of staff connections: Iowa assistant coach Matt Gatens previously worked on Pearl’s staff at Auburn as a graduate assistant during the 2017-18 season, which was the year the Tigers made their first NCAA Tournament appearance under Pearl. Gatens, whose father Mike was one of Pearl’s close friends while he was an assistant at Iowa, assisted in travel, development, scouting, video and camps for Auburn during his time on the Plains.

“I’ve already texted Matt and told him I’ve changed all the play calls, and I’ve changed all my signals, and we’re not running that anymore,” Pearl said with a laugh.

— Iowa is one of the best teams in the country in terms of taking care of the ball. The Hawkeyes turn it over on just 12 percent of their possessions, which is tied for the third-best mark in all of Division I this season. Iowa is also 35th nationally in assist percentage (58.1 percent)

“Iowa, as a team, will be one of the best offensive teams we’ve played,” Pearl said. “No. 3 in offensive efficiency. They play the 31st-fastest tempo. They make eight 3′s a game. They’re No. 8 in the country at taking care of the ball, as far as their assist-turnover ratio. They just don’t turn it over. They get a shot off before they turn it over. Thirtieth in the nation in assists per field goal, and they’re a great offensive rebounding team. Defensively, they do a lot of different things. They’re multiple in how they defend. So just a lot of things, obviously, to prepare for.”

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.