NCAA Tournament: Later, Gators: Iowa stuns defending champs and No. 1 seed

TAMPA, Fla. — 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 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-pointer. 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 three, 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 3-pointers. 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."