Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras (7) puts up a three-point shot against Florida in the second half of the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

ROB MAADDI | Associated Press

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.

“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.”

Florida finished 27-8, missing an opportunity to advance to the Sweet 16 and continue its quest for another title.

IOWA GAME NOTES

• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to send Iowa to a 73-72 victory over top-seeded Florida and to the program’s first Sweet 16 since 1999 on Sunday night at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
  • Florida didn’t get a shot off before time expired as Xavier Lee fumbled the ball out of bounds.
• The win is Iowa’s second win all-time against a top-seeded team, joining the 1980 squad’s 88-77 win over Syracuse.
  • It is the first time since 2018 that a nine seed as beat a one seed (Florida State over Xavier).
  • Iowa is the ninth No. 9 seed all-time to take out a No. 1 seed.
• It is the ninth time in program history Iowa has advanced to the Sweet 16 and the first in 27 years.
• The game was played in front of a pro-Gator crowd of 14,717 in Tampa – 130 miles from Florida’s campus.
• The Hawkeyes had four players land in double figures: Tavion Banks (20), Alvaro Folgueiras (14), Bennett Stirtz (13), Cooper Koch (12)
• Banks notched his third 20-point game of the season, making 7-of-10 field goals, one 3-pointer and five free throws.  He also had a team-high six rebounds.
  • Banks scored 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting in the first half.
• Folgueiras made 3-of-5 field goals, including two 3-pointers, and went 6-for-6 from the line to land in double figures for the second straight game.  He also grabbed five rebounds.
  • Iowa is 14-1 this season when Folgueiras scores in double digits.
  • Folgueiras has been in double figures in all three games in his career in March Madness.
• Koch scored all 12 of his points in the second half, making 4-of-6 3-pointers in the game.
  • It was his fourth game this season with at least four treys.
• Stirtz had 13 points, five rebounds and five assists, while playing all 40 minutes.
  • He has been in double digits in 33 of Iowa’s 35 games this season.
  • Stirtz has scored in double figures in all four career March Madness contests.
  • Stirtz has played 40 minutes 16 times this season and 56 times in his career.
• After taking a 33-31 lead into the half, the Hawkeyes opened the second half with a 13-2 run over the first six minutes to open a 51-39 lead.
  • Iowa made its first seven shots of half two, including 3-pointers from Banks and two from Koch.
• Facing a 12-point deficit, the Gators responded with a 12-4 and 21-7 run to take their first lead of the second half at 60-58.  Iowa regained the lead at 61-60 and 66-65 on a 3-ball from Koch with 4:17 remaining.
  • Florida led 72-70 after making one of two free throws with eight seconds to play, Stirtz found Folgueiras in the corner for the 3 to give the Hawkeyes the lead.   
• The Hawkeyes were even on the glass against the much-taller Gators, 27-27.
• Iowa shot 51 percent from the floor and made seven 3s.  Florida shot 50 percent and made six 3s.
  • The Hawkeyes shot 70 percent on two-point field goals against Florida.  No team had done that against Todd Golden in his 144-game tenure in Gainesville.
  • Iowa had a 32-30 advantage in paint points. 
  • Iowa limited Florida to just 46 field goal attempts in the contest.
• Iowa made 7-of-12 shots to open the game, jumping out to a 17-12 lead.  The Hawkeyes held the Gators without a field goal for a seven-plus minute stretch where the team missed nine straight shots.
  • The Hawkeyes led by as many as 10 (23-13) with 8:11 to play in the first half and took a 33-31 lead into the locker room.

Up Next

The Hawkeyes will travel to Houston to face fourth-seeded Nebraska in the Sweet 16 on Thursday.  The game will tipoff at 6:30 p.m. (CT) and be televised on TBS.