It felt like a home game for the Florida Gators, who played in front of a sea of orange and blue at Tampa’s Benchmark International Arena, not far from their Gainesville campus.
Fans left stunned.
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, 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.
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“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.
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. 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.
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 obviously on the last play, we wanted to take a foul to prevent them from getting off a 3, 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.
A Sweet 16 without mid-majors
Sweet 16 Cinderella has been kicked out of the dance early for the second straight season. The invite is for power-conference programs only.
Following a madness-promising first day of upsets, the tournament turned into a high-major affair.
Advocates for fewer automatic qualifiers and bracket expansion will have a field day with this one.
“I think parity is great for the game, but things change,” said Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd, who spent 21 seasons as an assistant at Gonzaga.
The Big Ten is the big conference on the block, pushing through a league-record six teams into the Sweet 16 — three in the same region.
The SEC has four Sweet 16 teams, the Big 12 three, the Big East two, the ACC one.
Mid-majors: zero for the second straight season.
Breaking down the regions
Midwest Region: In the nightcap in Tampa, No. 4 seed Alabama (25-9) washed away Texas Tech by raining down 19 3-pointers in a 90-65 thrashing to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season.
Next up for the Crimson Tide: a Michigan team that has looked every bit a top seed, winning its first two games by an average of 22 points.
No. 2 seed Iowa State took a big hit when All-America forward Joshua Jefferson sprained his ankle in the Cyclones’ opener and didn’t play against Kentucky. It did little to slow them down; the Cyclones (29-7) spun away from Kentucky 82-63 to reach the Sweet 16 for the third time under coach T.J. Otzelberger.
Iowa State hopes to have Jefferson back for Friday’s game and will likely need him against Tennessee. The No. 6 Vols (24-11) have been Sweet 16 regulars under coach Rick Barnes and made it four straight by outlasting Virginia 79-72.
South Region: Along with Iowa and Nebraska, No. 2 seed Houston (30-6) will be only a couple of miles from its campus when its plays Illinois on Thursday.
The Illini (26-8) are big — bigger than any team in the country. They used that size to their advantage, clobbering Penn and VCU to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons under coach Brad Underwood.
East Region: The top three seeds made it through. Fifth-seeded St. John’s (30-6) blew a 12-point lead against Kansas, but Dylan Darling, who hadn’t hit a shot all day, scored at the buzzer for a 67-65 win that sends Red Storm to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.
Next up for the Johnnies is a date with Duke on Friday in Washington. The Blue Devils (34-2) eliminated TCU 81-58 to reach the Sweet 16 for the third straight season.
UConn (31-5) clamped down on UCLA and will face Michigan State (27-7), which is in the Sweet 16 for the 17th time under coach Tom Izzo and, led by the dynamic duo of Jeremy Fears Jr. and Coen Carr.
West Region: The West has an SEC team disguised as Cinderella. Texas has a world of resources and plays in the SEC, yet found itself in Dayton as a No. 11 seed.
The Longhorns (21-14) pulled it together at just the right time in their first season under coach Sean Miller, knocking off No. 3 seed Gonzaga to become the sixth First Four team to reach the Sweet 16.
That earns them a spot in the West semifinals against No. 2 Purdue (29-8) Thursday in San Jose, California. The Boilermakers advanced with a 79-69 win over Miami.
The showdown between No. 1 Arizona and No. 4 Arkansas will be an NBA scout’s delight. The Wildcats (34-2) go eight deep in potential future pros and guard Jaden Bradley has a knack for making the biggest plays at the biggest moments.
John Calipari set the standard for recruiting NBA lottery picks at Kentucky and it’s been no different in his second season in Fayetteville. Fabulous freshman Darius Acuff Jr. was the star in Arkansas’ 94-88 win over High Point, scoring 36 points in the Razorbacks’ second straight Sweet 16 berth.
