'UPSET OF THE TOURNAMENT': Iowa upsets Florida in March Madness, social media reacts

ASFN Admin

Administrator
Administrator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 8, 2002
Posts
1,269,216
Reaction score
59
For the second time in only a handful of hours, the 2026 NCAA Tournament had a game decided with a go-ahead bucket in the final five seconds.

And this time, it knocked out the reigning national champion and one of the four No. 1 seeds.

An Alvaro Folgueiras 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining lifted No. 9 seed Iowa to a 73-72 upset victory over Florida on Sunday, March 22.

REQUIRED READING: Florida basketball stunned by Iowa in March Madness Round 2 upset

The win pushed the Hawkeyes into their first Sweet 16 since 1999, where first-year coach Ben McCollum's team will face Big Ten rival Nebraska in a matchup that, unlike the schools' football games, will feature no punting. It marked the ninth time since 1979 that a No. 9 seed has defeated a No. 1 seed.

The thrilling conclusion to the win and the ramifications of the upset unsurprisingly drew a spirited reaction among fans and media members.

Here’s a sampling of what was being said on social media after the game:

Social media reacts to Iowa's upset of Florida



Looking at my bracket right now https://t.co/dpJAey2mhkpic.twitter.com/qcK0JDHDhe

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 23, 2026


This is the Sweet 16 matchup that the Midwest prayed for

Nebraska vs Iowa

Nationally, I don’t think people understand how great this is

This is war

— Will Compton (@_willcompton) March 23, 2026


This is March!

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 23, 2026


UPSET OF THE TOURNAMENT.

OH MY GOODNESS.

IOWA STUNS THE FLORIDA GATORS IN TAMPA.

THIS! IS! MARCH!

— Jake Marsh (@JakeMarsh18) March 23, 2026


Ben McCollum was coaching Northwest Missouri State two years ago in the D-2 tourney.

Last year he took Drake to the NCAA tourney.

This year he's taking Iowa to the Sweet 16.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 23, 2026


Ben McCollum is a WIZARD. That Iowa roster has NO business beating that Florida team.

But it happened.

March happened. Again.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) March 23, 2026


pic.twitter.com/u6MFbkQ2ad

— No Context College Basketball (@ContextFreeCBB) March 23, 2026

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How social media reacted to Iowa upset of Florida in march Madness

Continue reading...
 
Top