18 hours ago
TAMPA, Fla. — Iowa is headed to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999 after Alvaro Folgueiras hit a corner 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left to upset reigning national champion Florida 73-72 on Sunday night.
The Hawkeyes, who led for much of the game, fell behind 71-68 with 1:58 left but kept the Gators from making a shot the rest of the game. Star guard Bennett Stirtz made a floater to cut the deficit to 1 with 57 seconds left, and Florida missed a pair of 3s, then split a pair of free throws with 8.9 seconds left.
That set up the final scenario: Iowa ball, trailing 72-70, 94 feet from victory.
Stirtz timed his run to catch the inbounds pass with his momentum carrying him toward the basket. He drove down the court, then found Folgueiras alone in the right corner for the open 3.
ARE. YOU. JOKING.
IOWA LEADS. THIS IS MARCH. #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/sNDHTqaGj1
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2026
Florida’s last-gap chance ended without a shot, sending Haugh to the ground in disappointment.
“March is for the dreamers,” Folgueiras said in a postgame interview on the court.
The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (23-12) did it in front of a Gator-heavy crowd at Benchmark International Arena, about two hours south of Gainesville.
The game was as physical as the Hawkeyes predicted it would be Saturday. The teams got into a scuffle in the first half when Florida’s Alex Condon tried to yank a rebound away from Folgueiras. Condon wrestled Folgueiras and the ball to the ground, and Folgueiras took a swipe that set off a scuffle. Both head coaches, Florida’s Todd Golden and Iowa’s Ben McCollum, ran to the action, and the coaching staffs jawed at each other as officials reviewed the incident (issuing a technical foul to Condon and Folgueiras).
Iowa started to take control in the second half by hitting its first seven shots from the field during a 13-2 run to go up 51-39. Florida (27-8) rallied with a torrid stretch by Condon and Thomas Haugh — two returners from last year’s title team — to set up a back-and-forth final few minutes.
Iowa will face Big Ten rival Nebraska in the Sweet 16 on Thursday in Houston.
This story will be updated.
