Florida’s hopes of winning back-to-back national titles are gone.
Alvaro Folgueiras drilled a late 3-pointer in the final seconds to lift No. 9 Iowa past No. 1 Florida 73-72 on Sunday night in Tampa, Florida. That sent the Hawkeyes into their first Sweet 16 since 1999, and eliminated the defending national champions in the process.
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Iowa star Bennett Stirtz brought the ball up the floor in the final seconds after the Gators jumped up by two, and he found a wide-open Folgueiras standing in the corner of the floor.
Folgueiras was perfect.
Folgueiras, like he does after knocking down every 3-pointer he makes, pointed up to the sky in a way to honor his father, who died when he was 9 years old. He finished the game with 14 points and five rebounds, and the game-winner was his second 3-pointer of the night.
The Gators had one last look, after a timeout and a review, but they couldn’t get a shot up in time.
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A heated battle in the first half
Things erupted midway through the first half after Alex Condon and Folgueiras got into it. The two fought for a loose ball when Condon ripped Folgueiras down to the court. As Folgueiras was flipped over, he tried to punch the ball out of Condon’s hands.
That sparked an altercation, which resulted in both head coaches Todd Golden and Ben McCollum shouting at each other on the sideline. Even though Folgueiras punched only the ball, and not Condon’s chest like it initially seemed, Golden was livid.
Both players were hit with a technical foul, and the game continued.
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That incident came after an awful offensive stretch for the Gators. They went almost 10 full minutes without a field goal, something that was snapped after Xaivian Lee drained a wide-open 3-pointer. The Hawkeyes ended up taking a two-point lead into halftime. They went just 1-of-11 from behind the arc, though Florida wasn’t much better with its three made 3-pointers.
Iowa took off early in the second half, and mounted a quick 13-2 run capped by a Cooper Koch 3-pointer. That put the Hawkeyes up 12 points, their largest lead of the game at the time.
That didn’t last. The Gators came storming back, and eventually had a two-point lead with just 8.9 seconds left after a stop and an Isaiah Brown free throw on the other end. That set up one final look for the Hawkeyes, which Stirtz and Folgueiras played perfectly.
Tavion Banks led the Hawkeyes with 20 points after shooting 7-of-10 from the field. Stirtz had 13 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists, though he went 0-of-9 from behind the arc.
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Iowa set for another rematch with Nebraska
With their win, the Hawkeyes will get a third battle with Nebraska in Houston on Thursday night. While that may not be the Sweet 16 contest many in the country envisioned, it’s sure to be entertaining based on recent history.
Iowa knocked off then-No. 9 Nebraska at home in February in a five-point win. Nebraska got revenge at home a few weeks later in overtime in the final game of the regular season. Iowa rallied from a 10-point hole in the final five minutes to force the extra period that night.
The winner of Thursday’s contest will advance to the Elite Eight, where either Houston or Illinois will be waiting for them. While it may have seemed like a true long shot just a few weeks ago, the Hawkeyes now have a path to their first Elite Eight since 1987.
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