TAMPA, Fla. – What was it that Iowa coach Ben McCollum said the day before about his methodical, slow-paced Hawkeyes offense and its pending match-up against Florida’s size and high-tempo style of play? Something along the lines of how putting the ball in the basket just once more than the opponent was the only thing that mattered.
McCollum was right, of course, and the Gators were reminded of as much in most cruel fashion Sunday night before an equally stunned and bummed partisan crowd at Benchmark International Arena.
Forward Alvaro Folgueiras’ wide-open, go-ahead 3-point dagger with 4.5 seconds remaining proved not only the difference in ninth-seeded Iowa’s shocking 73-72 upset of NCAA Tournament Southeast Region No. 1-seed Florida, but was a gut-punch ending to the Gators’ reign as national champions.
“Tough one to swallow,” UF coach Todd Golden said after being just the ninth 1-seed to fall to a 9-seed in NCAA Tournament history. “We’ll be thinking about this one for a while.”
Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras lets fly his game-winner Friday night in Tampa.
Rightfully so. The Gators (27-8) had several chances to close out a game in which they had to fight back mightily – led by forwards Alex Condon (21 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists) and Thomas Haugh (19 points, 6 rebounds) – just to be in. They trailed by a 10 in the first half and a dozen in the second half, but used 1-2-2 full-court pressure to get back in the game and actually led by four with just over five minutes to go. Their lead was three inside a minute and two with 8.9 seconds remaining after forcing a Hawkeye miss, with backup sophomore guard Isaiah Brown fouled on the rebound.
Brown, at 74.4% for the season from the free-throw line this season, missed the first and made the second for a two-point advantage.
Out of an ensuing timeout, the Gators set up in full-court man pressure, with the intent of going for an in-bound steal and, if unsuccessful, fouling immediately to put the Hawkeyes at the line and take the game to overtime.
“We had a feeling they were going to try to end it and try to walk us off,” Golden said. “We just did not execute on the last play.”
Iowa did.
All-Big Ten point guard Bennett Stirtz was able to take a pass on the move over UF defender Boogie Fland, get into the halfcourt and pitch ahead to Folgueiras, a 32% shooter from distance on the season, who was parked in the corner. Their attack against the press worked to perfection. Folguerias’ shot was pure.
“The play was drawn up for me to get downhill,” Stirtz explained afterward. “Then this dude [Folgueiras] came up to me and he’s like, ‘I’m going to be ready and I’m going to make it.’ That what he actually did.”
UF had its chance out of a timeout, as well. The ball was in-bounded to speedy guard Xaivian Lee, who took the entry with a head of steam and zipped from one baseline to the next. As the clock was winding down, Lee opted not to shoot, but rather get as deep as he could, under the backboard, and tried to shovel a pass to forward Condon on the block. The ball was knocked away as the final horn sounded.
“Maybe I could have shot a floater or a pull-up or something,” Lee said. “I was going pretty fast and I thought I had time for the duck-in [drop pass], but I don’t know.”
The Gators only know that the season, highlighted by the program’s first Southeastern Conference championship in 12 years, is over.
Forward Alex Condon hit eight of 13 shots from the floor, five of nine free throws and also had seven assists.
The mood in the post-game locker room was one of devastation, with several players in tears, most notably center Rueben Chinyelu. An emotional Chinyelu, the SEC rebound leader and defensive player of the year, pointed a finger at himself after going scoreless with just one board.
“I let my team down,” he said.
He wasn’t the only one with their head buried in their hands.
“This one stings,” Brown said.
It’ll sting even more next week when they’re sitting in Gainesville watching Iowa (23-12) play Big Ten rival and 4-seed Nebraska in the Southeast Region semifinals on the doorstep of the Elite Eight. Not to mention four other SEC teams (Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Texas) in the “Sweet 16.”
Iowa was led by guard Tavion Banks’ 20 points and six rebounds, plus Stirtz’s 13 points (though 0-for-9 from 3), five assists and no turnovers. The Hawkeyes shot 51% against the nation’s No. 4 defense and also fought to a draw against the nation’s best rebounding team at 27-all, including a 10-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
UF forward Thomas Haugh (10) scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half.
The Gators, who shot 50% for the game, didn’t help themselves by going stone-cold during a rocky middle of the first half when the Hawkeyes built a 23-13 lead by simply being the more physical and better-executing team. Eventually, UF cleaned some things up and drew within a basket, 33-31, at halftime, despite 37% shooting.
Not six minutes into the second half, Iowa led 51-39 after hitting its first seven shots of the period, including three 3s, before Florida began its comeback.
“The first half, I was just out of it. I just feel bad, I didn’t make any plays, didn’t do anything to help the team out to win the first half,” a dejected Haugh said after what likely was his final game in a UF uniform. “Second half, I thought we started to get in it. But they’re a good team and they just played way harder than us and hit more shots and just made more plays in the end.”
A 14-3 run — with Brown tying the game on a slam-dunk and Condon pushing the Gators in front, 60-58, with a second consecutive flush — had UF ahead for the first time since barely five minutes into the game. But Hawkeye forward Cooper Koch hit a 3 to retake the lead on the next possession for the second of what would be six lead chances over the final seven minutes.
IOWA STUNS FLORIDA WITH A LAST SECOND THREE 🤯
THIS TOURNAMENT 🤩
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— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 23, 2026
Everyone will remember (or want to forget) the last one most.
“It’s a tough one. I’m going to remember this feeling for a while,” Condon said. “You work hard all year to get into this position as a 1-seed and just let it get away from us a little bit.”
This time of year, a little bit is all it takes.
Email senior writer Chris Harry at chrish@gators.ufl.edu. Find his story archives here.