Iowa basketball stuns No. 1 seed Florida to reach Sweet 16. Here's how it happened.

[ASFN Admin]

TAMPA, Fla. — It happened.

In coach Ben McCollum's first season at the helm, Iowa is going to its first Sweet 16 since 1999.

The Hawkeyes knocked off the reigning national champion Florida Gators 73-72 on Sunday in an NCAA Tournament second-round game. Iowa will play Nebraska in a regional semifinal on Thursday in Houston.

Here's a recap of how it happened, with likes and dislikes.

Likes​

• Alvaro Folgueiras' heroics: With Iowa trailing by two, Folgueiras drained a shot from the corner to give Iowa the lead with 4.5 seconds to go. The Robert Morris transfer has had an up-and-down season, but came through with a ridiculously clutch shot.
• Beating elite competition: More often than not, the Hawkeyes have been able to put up a fight against great teams. They fell just short against Iowa State, Michigan and others. That wasn't the case against Florida. Iowa made enough winning plays in crunch time.
• Start of the second half: After Florida made its run to close the first half, Iowa responded early in the second half. The Hawkeyes went on a 13-2 run to take a 12-point lead with a little more than 14 minutes to go. Just like they did for a portion of the first half, the Hawkeyes had Florida on its heels. Iowa did not look scared of the moment whatsoever.
• Tavion Banks: He was terrific attacking the basket and scoring. Banks had 20 points, 14 of which came in the first half. Banks even left more on the board because he uncharacteristically struggled from the free-throw line, shooting just 5-of-10.
• 1st half defense: Florida's offense was uncharacteristically poor, but Iowa’s defense played a part in that. The Gators shot just 37% from the field and 27% from deep in the first half. Florida started the game just 5-of-19 from the field, including a lengthy drought.
• Iowa’s physicality: Despite being undersized, Iowa was not overmatched by Florida physically. Improbably, Iowa tied Florida in the rebounding battle. The Hawkeyes were great in that area.
• Cooper Koch’s 2nd half: The redshirt freshman caught fire in the second half, scoring all 12 of his points after the break. Koch was a sizzling 4-of-5 from long range in the second half.
• Fast start: At the under-8 timeout in the first half, Iowa led by 10. It was a masterful first 12 minutes plus by the Hawkeyes, who had Florida on their heels.
• Incredible game: This is what March is about. Such an entertaining, thrilling contest.

Dislikes​

• Florida’s second-half response: Just like it did in the first half, Florida came surging 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.
• Iowa's 2nd-half defense: After Iowa held Florida to just 31 points in the first half, the Gators got it rolling offensively after the break, scoring 41. Florida shot 68% from the field and 38% from deep.
• Bennett Stirtz: The Iowa star struggled mightily. This was in part a compliment to how well Florida guarded him. The Gators did not make it easy for Stirtz to get shots up. He scored 13 points and was 5-of-16 from the field and 0-of-9 from deep.
• Free throws: Iowa was not good from the free-throw line. The Hawkeyes were just 14-of-22 from the charity stripe. Meanwhile, Florida was a more efficient 20-of-27.
• Thomas Haugh, Xaivian Lee and Alex Condon: That trio combined for 57 of Florida’s 72 points.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa basketball stuns Florida to reach Sweet 16 of March Madness

Continue reading...