03/22/26 08:53:00
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03/22 20:51 CDT Iowa beats No. 1 seed and defending champ Florida in March
Madness on Folgueiras' 3 in final seconds
Iowa beats No. 1 seed and defending champ Florida in March Madness on
Folgueiras' 3 in final seconds
By ROB MAADDI
AP Sports Writer
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) --- Alvaro 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, Iowa reached the Sweet 16 for the first
time since 2015, while Florida (27-8) became the first No. 1 seed to be knocked
out of this year's March Madness.
The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (23-12) wasted a 12-point lead in the second half but
rallied in the final minutes. They will face No. 4 seed Nebraska in the South
Region semifinals Thursday night in Houston.
Xaivian Lee's driving layup put Florida ahead 71-68 with under two minutes
left. Bennett 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. Florida didn't get a shot off before the buzzer, with
Lee's desperate drive ending with a pass that Haugh couldn't handle.
Coming off a 59-point victory over Prairie View A&M on Friday night, Florida
played like a team that hadn't been tested.
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.
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. Florida coach Todd
Golden sprinted onto the floor to help calm things down, and both players were
assessed technical fouls.
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and
coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
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