Alvaro Folgueiras took the pass from Bennett Stirtz, squared up and hit the biggest three of his career to send Iowa to the Sweet 16 after defeating Florida 73-72. It’s Iowa’s first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1999 and first time a 9 seed has beaten a 1 seed since 2018 when Florida State beat top seeded Xavier. Folgueiras totaled 14 points along with five rebounds and one assists. With Iowa trailing by two, Folgueiras drained a shot from the corner to give Iowa the lead with 4.5 seconds to go.
Folgueiras talks about his mom in the post game press conference.
For most of the 40 minutes Iowa out played Florida leading most of the game, going up 12 points with 13:50 left in the game. Iowa had Florida on their heels but the Gators inside game came alive just like it did in the first half as they surged back after Iowa took a double-digit lead. Cooper Koch drained a 3-pointer to give Iowa a 51-39 lead with a little more than 14 minutes to go. But Florida came storming back and took the lead with about seven minutes to go behind Alex Condon and Thomas Haugh. Condon ended up with 21 points and Haugh had 19 and both came alive in the second half to cut Iowa’s lead several times.
Still thinking about this shot.
Unbelievable ‼️#MarchMadness https://t.co/ppcq4sVxIT pic.twitter.com/T7BmHKgyGT
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 23, 2026
Going into the game the conventional wisdom was that the only way Iowa could win would be by shooting a high percentage from behind the arc and forcing defensive pressure on the perimeter to keep the Gator big three from scoring at will in the paint. Instead they went 7 for 24 from three while Stirtz missing all nine of his attempts behind the arc. For most of the game they outscored Florida in the paint by forcing the Gator bigs to play on the perimeter which kept them off the glass as Iowa tied one of the nation’s best rebounding teams with 27 rebounds. The Hawkeyes also had eight offensive rebounds and matched the Gators in the paint. Iowa outscored Florida in the paint 32-30 but for most of the game dominated the points in the paint.
Tavian Banks was the real star for Iowa scoring at will early and keeping the Florida defense off balance. He hit 7 of 10 from the field scoring 20 points while adding six rebounds and and assist. Most importantly he picked up the slack for a struggling Stirtz who was only 5 of 16 from the field and was held in check by Floirda’s Boogie Fland.
Iowa’s advances to the Sweet 16 against a familiar foe, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who they split with this season. Nebraska punched their ticket to Houston by beating Vanderbilt 74-72. The game will be Thursday at 6:30 p.m.. You can hear the game on AM 860 and FM 95.1 KWPC. Hawkeye coverage is brought to you by Muscatine Power and Water.
