Iowa spoiled Florida’s chance to defend its national men’s basketball title as the No. 9 seed Hawkeyes beat the No. 1 seed Gators 73-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Sunday at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
The upset left the college basketball world breathless, with reactions of amazement flooding social media as fans marveled at how crazy the game was.
College Basketball World Shocked as Iowa Unseats Defending Champion Florida
Spanish forward Alvaro Folgueiras hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left for the Hawkeyes, who prevented the Gators from taking a shot before the buzzer sounded.
9-SEED IOWA SHOCKS 1-SEED FLORIDA WITH A THREE IN THE FINAL SECONDS 🚨
THE DEFENDING CHAMPS ARE OUT. pic.twitter.com/t1KbPJHs1K
— CBB Kings (@CBBKings) March 23, 2026
The college basketball world exploded after the result was announced, as a four-time Division II champion coach unexpectedly knocked out the Gators in his second Division I season and his first at Iowa.
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Barstool Sports’ Evan McDowell, also known as Unbiased Ev, called Iowa’s victory over Florida an absolute stunner. He praised McCollum for an incredible performance, outshining his counterpart, Todd Golden, and noted that the Big Ten Conference has taken control of college basketball, with Iowa, Michigan State, Nebraska, Illinois, Purdue, and Michigan all reaching the Sweet 16.
“Iowa what an absolute stunner. Amazing coaching job by McCollum. The Big Ten runs college basketball,” he said.
The shocking turn of events had NBC Sports’ college football insider Nicole Auerbach reacting in amazement. The sports personality even compared McCollum to longtime Iowa coach and current Penn coach Fran McCaffery.
“Iowa never made it out of the first weekend under Fran McCaffery. Ben McCollum takes the Hawkeyes to the Sweet 16 in Year 1. Wow,” Auerbach wrote.
CBS college basketball insider Jon Rothstein emphasized that the Gators will not repeat as national men’s college basketball champions, while noting that Iowa reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in 27 years.
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Former NBA Most Valuable Player and Auburn legend Charles Barkley praised Iowa for its surprising second-round victory, noting that the Hawkeyes outperformed Florida in most aspects of the game. Barkley also criticized Gators coach Todd Golden for using ball pressure during the crucial moments of the game.
The Birmingham News writer Kevin Scarbinsky expressed a harsh opinion on Florida after its loss to Iowa in the second round, calling the setback “totally embarrassing.”
No other way to say it. Totally embarrassing loss by Florida.
You’re the reigning champ.
You’re the 1 seed.
You’re playing in your home state. Against a 9 seed in Iowa with 12 losses that finished 9th in the Big Ten.
You fall behind by 12.
You storm back to take the lead.…
— Kevin Scarbinsky (@KevinScarbinsky) March 23, 2026
Folgueiras, who transferred from Robert Morris this season, provided the bench spark that the Hawkeyes needed to upset the Gators. He finished with 14 points on 3-of-5 shooting (2-of-4 on 3-pointers) and 6-of-6 from the foul line. He also had five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Tavion Banks led Iowa’s offense with 20 points despite going 5-of-10 from the free-throw line. Leading scorer Bennett Stirtz took a backseat, finishing with 13 points, but he made the game-winning play by passing the ball to a wide-open Folgueiras, who sank the 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining.
Alex Condon scored 21 points to lead Florida, while Thomas Haugh added 19 for the Gators, who started the season with a loss to Arizona and finished it with a loss to Iowa.
