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What they didn\u2019t count on was Iowa \u2014 upright and unyielding as corn stalks \u2014 imposing a deliberate, relentless style that gave the Gators fits.<\/p>\n
Trailing by two points, Alvaro Folgueiras hit a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to give Iowa a 73-72 win over Florida in the second round of Sunday\u2019s South Region in the NCAA Tournament.<\/p>\n
Folgueiras, who had been involved in an altercation that resulted in technical fouls for him and UF\u2019s Alex Condon, stared at the partisan Florida crowd.<\/p>\n
The Gators\u2019 Xaivian Lee dribbled the length of the court but his pass did not connect with Thomas Haugh as time expired.<\/p>\n
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Fellow No. 1 seeds Duke and Michigan had already advanced to the Sweet 16 Sunday and Arizona was on the way.<\/p>\n
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The Gators entered having averaged 87 points per game in the regular season and SEC Tournament.<\/p>\n
But they clearly were not in their comfort zone Sunday, trailing 33-31 at halftime.<\/p>\n
Gators coach Todd Golden knew Sunday\u2019s game would be a clash of styles.<\/p>\n
Iowa wanted to walk the ball up, drain the shot clock and pound the basketball inside.<\/p>\n
The Gators tried to turn every missed shot and turnover into a race to the basket.<\/p>\n
But the Hawkeyes shot 48% (12-of-25) in the first half while the Gators struggled at 37% (10-of-27). Iowa also had an 18-14 edge in rebounds.<\/p>\n
The whole tenor of the game changed with 8:34 remaining in the first half.<\/p>\n
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It happened when the Gators\u2019 Condon and Iowa\u2019s Folgueiras scrapped for a loose ball.<\/p>\n
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Condon threw Folgueiras to the floor trying to wrestle the ball away. Folgueiras responded with what appeared to be a punch. Both players had to be separated and were each hit with a technical foul.<\/p>\n
But the intensity of the game at Benchmark International Arena was amped to a new level.<\/p>\n
Complicating matters for the Gators was that center Rueben Chinyelu picked up his third foul and went back to the bench just minutes into the second half. Chinyelu is a double-double machine for the Gators.<\/p>\n
Tavion Banks scored 14 in the first half on 5-of-8 shooting from the floor and added four rebounds.<\/p>\n
Lee paced the Gators with 10 in the first half, including going 2 of 4 behind the 3-point line.<\/p>\n
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Iowa took a 51-39 lead nearly six minutes into the second half when Bennett Stirtz hit a baseline floater and Cooper Koch connected on 3-pointer, forcing Golden to call timeout.<\/p>\n
Golden tried to dial up some half-court pressure but it didn\u2019t seem to bother the Hawkeyes.<\/p>\n
Florida fought back and consecutive buckets on as many trips down the floor by Isaiah Brown and Haugh gave the Gators their first lead in the second half at 63-61.<\/p>\n
Iowa struggled from there, missing the front end of back-to-back 1-and-1 free throws. A layup by Condon made it 69-66 Florida with 2:40 to play.<\/p>\n
But Iowa never backed down and made the big plays down the stretch to advance to the Sweet 16.<\/p>\n
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This story will be updated.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u2022 \u2022<\/p>\n
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