Iowa beats No. 1 seed and defending
champ Florida in March Madness on Folgueiras' 3 in final seconds
[March 23, 2026]
By ROB MAADDI
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Alvaro Folgueiras told Bennett Stirtz he'd be
ready for the ball, and he delivered in the clutch.
Folgueiras nailed a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining and Iowa
eliminated defending national champion Florida, sending the
top-seeded Gators home with a 73-72 victory on Sunday in the second
round of the NCAA Tournament.
Under first-year coach Ben McCollum, the Hawkeyes reached the Sweet
16 for the first time since 1999, while Florida (27-8) became the
first No. 1 seed to be knocked out of this year's March Madness.
“This is really special,” Folgueiras said. “March is for the
dreamers and there’s no better dreamer than us. It’s incredible. We
have to keep going. We are one of the 16 best teams in the country.
We’re still hungry.”
Iowa (23-12) wasted a 12-point lead in the second half but rallied
in the final minutes, becoming the first No. 9 seed to beat a No. 1
since 2018, when Florida State shocked Xavier. The Hawkeyes will
face No. 4 seed Nebraska in the South Region semifinals Thursday
night in Houston.
“They fight, they compete, they exemplify everything we want in Iowa
basketball,” said McCollum, who brought Stirtz and three other
players with him from Drake.
Xaivian Lee’s driving layup put Florida ahead 71-68 with under two
minutes left. Stirtz answered with a floater to cut it to 71-70 with
57 seconds remaining.
After Thomas Haugh missed a 3-pointer, Stirtz missed a running layup
and Isaiah Brown grabbed the rebound with 8.9 seconds left. Brown
made his second free throw.
But Iowa easily broke Florida's full-court press and Folguerias was
wide open in the corner for his 3. The play was designed for Stirtz
but when the defense converged on him, he tossed it to his teammate.
“We're unselfish. We like to see each other succeed,” Stirtz said.
When McCollum heard Stirtz say Folguerias asked for the ball, he
asked: “You said that?”
“Irrational confidence,” McCollum said with a smile.
Florida didn't get a shot off before the buzzer, with Lee's
desperate drive ending with a pass that Haugh couldn’t handle.
[to top of second column] |
Florida forward Alex Condon (21) reacts after the team lost to Iowa
during the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament
Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
“A disappointing result for us tonight, but credit
Iowa,” Gators coach Todd Golden said. “I thought they played well,
especially in the first half. Had us on our heels a little bit, and
I thought they were physically tougher than us in the first half.
And it took a little bit for us to regain our footing and then they
got off to a good start in the second half. ... I thought obviously
on the last play, we wanted to take a foul to prevent them from
getting off a 3, and they got away from us. We weren’t able to take
it and they knocked it down, so credit to them for that. Just a
tough way to go out.”
Coming off a 59-point victory over Prairie View A&M on Friday night,
Florida played like a team that hadn't been tested. Iowa outfought
the Gators on both ends.
“Five grown men vs. five grown men and we wanted it more,”
Folgueiras said.
It felt like a home game for the Gators, who played in front of a
sea of orange and blue at Benchmark International Arena, home of the
Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fans left stunned.
“We're the only ones who believed in us and it'll probably stay that
way,” Stirtz said.
Tavion Banks led Iowa with 20 points, Folgueiras had 14 and Stirtz
finished with 13 on another off night when he shot just 5 of 16.
Cooper Kock scored 12 points on four 3s.
Alex Condon led Florida with 21 points, Haugh had 19 and Lee added
17.
A scuffle broke out just past the midpoint of the first half with
Iowa leading 19-13 when Condon and Folgueiras battled for a loose
ball. Both players went to the floor holding on tightly. Folgueiras
swung his arm back but didn’t follow through with a punch and the
players had to be separated. Golden sprinted onto the floor to help
calm things down, and both players were assessed technical fouls.
“I didn't throw a punch,” Folguerias said. “It's March Madness.
Everybody wants to win.”
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