Gritty Iowa Stuns Florida With Toughness, Clutch Shot in Final Seconds

TAMPA, Fla. — A tough, confident team can go a long way in March Madness.

Just ask the Iowa Hawkeyes, who dethroned the Florida Gators, 73-72, in a second-round men's NCAA Tournament game in front of 17,996 fans Sunday night at Benchmark International Arena. Iowa and Florida traded haymakers all game long, but the Hawkeyes had one more play in them than the Gators.

Alvaro Folgueiras nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner with four seconds remaining to lift the No. 9 seed Hawkeyes past the top-seeded Gators, the defending national champions.

"The play was drawn up for me to get downhill," Iowa point guard Bennett Stirtz said. "Then [Folgueiras] said, 'I'm ready, and I'm gonna make it.'"

Swish. Florida had a chance to answer, but couldn't get a shot off on its final possession of the game.

Iowa coach Ben McCollum joked that Folgueiras benefited from "irrational confidence" on the winning shot. No matter, the Hawkeyes (23-12) are advancing to face No. 4 seed Nebraska (28-6) on Thursday in Houston in the Sweet 16 of the South Region.

"They fight. They compete. You know, they stick with it," McCollum said. "They just, they exemplify everything that we've wanted in Iowa basketball. They've established the foundation that we desperately needed, and couldn't be any more proud of that."

Tavion Banks scored 20 points to lead the Hawkeyes. Folgueiras recorded 14 points and five rebounds, and Stirtz contributed 13 points and five assists. Alex Condon tallied a game-high 21 points for the Gators (27-8), and Thomas Haugh and Xaivian Lee added 19 and 17 points, respectively.

The matchup presented a contrast of distinct styles. Florida entered the game scoring 87.6 points per game (No. 8 in the nation), while Iowa's stingy defense only allowed 65.8 points per game (15th in nation). Something had to give.

Iowa looked as if it might run away and hide from Florida when it took a 51-39 lead on a 3-pointer by Cooper Koch with 14:39 left. It wasn't to be, as the Gators methodically rallied in front of a raucous partisan crowd. By the time Condon dunked with 7:34 left, Florida had taken a 60-58 lead.

It was back-and-forth down the stretch after that, until Stirtz brought the ball upcourt and found Folgueiras in the right corner for the winning shot.

The first half featured the kind of physical play you might expect from the Gators and Hawkeyes football teams. Indeed, the 6-foot-11 Condon and 6-foot-10 Folgueiras got tangled up in pursuit of a loose ball at one point, and players from both teams rushed into the scrum. Officials called a double technical but didn't eject anyone.

Folgueiras appeared to throw a punch in the scrum, but it didn't connect. After the game, he denied punching Condon.

"We both fell and fought for the ball," Folgueiras said. "This is a thing of the game. … They're a tough team, so it's just something that happens sometimes in basketball."

Florida endured a slow start, making just five of its first 19 shots. The Gators fell behind 23-13 with eight minutes left but didn't panic. They methodically chipped away at the Hawkeyes' lead until Boogie Fland tied the game at 31 with a driving layup late in the first half.

Banks scored a game-high 14 points in the first half for Iowa, which led 33-31 at intermission. Lee led Florida with 10 first-half points.