Clemson is a highly-motivated team heading into the NCAA Tournament.

The Tigers earned an at-large bid into the Big Dance and will be an eight-seed in the South Region. That means a matchup against No. 9 seed Iowa on Friday in Tampa, Florida.

Veterans RJ Godfrey and Dillion Hunter have been two of the loudest voices for this year’s team, and with this serving as their final NCAA Tournament, both are more than motivated.

“Obviously, Tampa is a really nice city,” Godfrey said. “I was kind of hoping to stay in a warm-weather location and we got that. I am super-excited. It is my third tournament and I can’t wait to get out there with the team.”

While the Tigers have yet to do a deep dive into the Hawkeyes, Godfrey has seen enough to know that the first-round matchup will be challenging.

“They are a good team,” he said. “They move the ball well and play pretty good defense, but we’re not too familiar with them. I have seen glimpses of some of their games this year.”

After being injured in the Tigers’ first game of the ACC Tournament last season, Hunter had to watch most of the postseason from the sidelines. This time around, he will be fully immersed and that is part of what is driving Clemson’s floor general.

“It is a lot of motivation, even going into the ACC Tournament,” Hunter said. “It was kind of surreal being back in Charlotte. You just have those types of feelings. I am just extremely motivated. Me and RJ’s last run. We just want to go out with a lot of passion and determination.”

While Godfrey was not around for last year’s first-round exit after transferring to Georgia for a season, he was a big part of the run to the Elite Eight two years ago. The senior big man has been bullish on this Clemson team from the start, and he still believes that if the Tiger can go out and play their game for 40 minutes, they are capable of competing with anyone in the tournament.

“If we come out and set the tone and we play hard for 40 minutes, I believe we can beat anybody in the country,” Godfrey said. “If we just got out there and play with effort, play with focus on both ends, we are going to be a hard team to beat.”

Photo courtesy of Bob Donnan-Imagn Images