Iowa surprises Florida and reaches Sweet 16 in March Madness
Iowa State shocked defending champion Florida State with a last-second shot to advance to the Sweet 16 in the heat of March.
There will be no consecutive champions in men’s college basketball.
No. 1 seed Florida lost to No. 9 seed Iowa 73-72 in the second round, sending the Gators home early and eliminating them from the NCAA Tournament.
The Hawkeyes pulled it off in spectacular fashion. Bennett Staats drove down the court with eight seconds left when he was two points behind, found a wide-open Alvaro Folgueiras with four seconds left, and made a go-ahead 3-pointer. Florida failed to respond on its last chance.
“For dreamers, this is really special. There’s no one better suited for dreamers than us,” Folgueiras said in a post-victory broadcast.
The defending champions entered the game on Sunday, March 22, fresh off a blowout win over 16th-seeded Prairie View A&M in the first round, scoring a tournament-high 114 points in the victory. Two days later, the Gators looked nothing like the team that earned the top seed in the NCAA bracket.
Iowa got off to a strong start, turning the game into a physical battle with some heated moments. The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 10-point lead midway through the first half, but Florida was forced to play catch-up for much of the final 20 minutes and trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half.
Florida took the lead with five minutes left and maintained it as momentum shifted toward the No. 1 seed’s game in its home state. But Iowa didn’t fold, leading to a shocking last-second bucket.
Iowa State is the first No. 9 seed to advance to the Sweet 16 since Florida Atlantic in 2023, and the ninth seed to beat a top seed since seeding began in 1979. This is the first time since Florida State in 2018. Florida joined Kansas in 1998 as the only teams in NCAA Tournament history to win a game by at least 50 points and lose the subsequent game.
The loss ensured that Connecticut remains the last back-to-back champions, which they achieved in 2023 and 2024. While the Huskies’ victory is recent, it follows a trend of teams that defend their title struggling to defend it the following season.
Eight of the past nine national champions all missed the Sweet 16 a year after winning. Also, losses ensure that there is no all-no. Last season, they made it to the 1-seed Final Four as all the top teams in their bracket advanced.
Iowa State coach Ben McCollum continues to impress in his first season in Iowa City. Iowa State is playing in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons and is making the Sweet 16 for the first time this century, the last time it reached the round in 1999. Awaiting the Hawkeyes in the round will be a familiar foe in Nebraska, with the Big Ten rivals facing off on Thursday, March 26th in Houston.
