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Florida basketball's March Madness title defense is over—ended by a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Alvaro Folgueiras drilled a 3-pointer in the corner to give the No. 9 seed Iowa Hawkeyes a stunning 73-72 victory over the defending national champions in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa.
Todd Golden and the Gators fought back from a 12-point deficit to take a late lead, only for Folgueiras to break Florida's heart with the dagger.
Alex Condon led Florida with 21 points and Thomas Haugh added 19, but none of it mattered in the end. The defending national champions are going home, eliminated by a team they should have beaten in their own backyard.
Take a look at the three key takeaways from the game below.
Down by as many as 12 points and shooting ice cold, the Gators managed to rally from behind and shift the energy of the game. Haugh, Condon and Xaivian Lee made plays when the Gators needed them most.
With eight seconds left and a free throw giving Florida a 72-70 lead, the comeback looked complete. Then Folgueiras caught a pass in the corner, rose up for a 3-pointer and ended it.
The cruelest part of this loss is how close Florida came to escaping this one with a win. The Gators went from close to dead in the water to one possession away from the Sweet 16, only to have it ripped away in the final seconds.
The first half shooting struggles put Florida in a hole it almost climbed out of. Almost.
The Gators couldn't afford to lose anyone in a game like this—and foul trouble made sure they didn't have everyone available when it counted.
Rueben Chinyelu picked up for fouls and was limited to just 19 minutes, a significant blow for a player who averages 11.7 rebounds per game and anchors Florida's defense in the paint.
Iowa was just scoring layup after layup and without the dominant physical presence, the Gators were more vulnerable defensively. Four fouls in a game of this magnitude effectively took one of Florida's best players all season out of the equation.
Condon's four fouls added another layer of difficulty. In a game decided by one point on a buzzer-beater, every single minute and every single decision matters. The foul trouble didn't lose this game alone, but it made an already difficult situation nearly impossible to manage.
That's the thing about March. It doesn't owe anybody anything.
Florida came into this tournament as one of the favorites to repeat as national champions. The Gators had won the SEC regular season title, demolished Prairie View in the first round and had the kind of experienced, talented roster that makes deep runs in March look inevitable.
But there's a reason why they call it March Madness.
The defending national champions are going home. It will sting for some time in Gainesville—a season that included a growth in optimism that back-to-back championships could be a possibility in 2026.
Florida will reload and be back and ready to roll next season. But the way the season ended for the Gators hurts. March Madness delivered again, and Florida was on the wrong end of it.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Key takeaways from Florida basketball's loss vs Iowa in March Madness
Continue reading...
Alvaro Folgueiras drilled a 3-pointer in the corner to give the No. 9 seed Iowa Hawkeyes a stunning 73-72 victory over the defending national champions in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa.
Todd Golden and the Gators fought back from a 12-point deficit to take a late lead, only for Folgueiras to break Florida's heart with the dagger.
Alex Condon led Florida with 21 points and Thomas Haugh added 19, but none of it mattered in the end. The defending national champions are going home, eliminated by a team they should have beaten in their own backyard.
Take a look at the three key takeaways from the game below.
Florida's second half run wasn't enough
Down by as many as 12 points and shooting ice cold, the Gators managed to rally from behind and shift the energy of the game. Haugh, Condon and Xaivian Lee made plays when the Gators needed them most.
With eight seconds left and a free throw giving Florida a 72-70 lead, the comeback looked complete. Then Folgueiras caught a pass in the corner, rose up for a 3-pointer and ended it.
The cruelest part of this loss is how close Florida came to escaping this one with a win. The Gators went from close to dead in the water to one possession away from the Sweet 16, only to have it ripped away in the final seconds.
The first half shooting struggles put Florida in a hole it almost climbed out of. Almost.
Foul trouble handcuffed Florida when it mattered most
The Gators couldn't afford to lose anyone in a game like this—and foul trouble made sure they didn't have everyone available when it counted.
Rueben Chinyelu picked up for fouls and was limited to just 19 minutes, a significant blow for a player who averages 11.7 rebounds per game and anchors Florida's defense in the paint.
Iowa was just scoring layup after layup and without the dominant physical presence, the Gators were more vulnerable defensively. Four fouls in a game of this magnitude effectively took one of Florida's best players all season out of the equation.
Condon's four fouls added another layer of difficulty. In a game decided by one point on a buzzer-beater, every single minute and every single decision matters. The foul trouble didn't lose this game alone, but it made an already difficult situation nearly impossible to manage.
March Madness doesn't care about résumés
That's the thing about March. It doesn't owe anybody anything.
Florida came into this tournament as one of the favorites to repeat as national champions. The Gators had won the SEC regular season title, demolished Prairie View in the first round and had the kind of experienced, talented roster that makes deep runs in March look inevitable.
But there's a reason why they call it March Madness.
The defending national champions are going home. It will sting for some time in Gainesville—a season that included a growth in optimism that back-to-back championships could be a possibility in 2026.
Florida will reload and be back and ready to roll next season. But the way the season ended for the Gators hurts. March Madness delivered again, and Florida was on the wrong end of it.
Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Key takeaways from Florida basketball's loss vs Iowa in March Madness
Continue reading...
