The Florida Gators find themselves on the outside looking in as the NCAA tournament continues without them having the opportunity to defend their 2025 National Championship in the second round after being upset by the Iowa Hawkeyes 73-72. The Gators found themselves playing from behind, down by as many as 12 points in the second half. The Hawkeyes went on a three-minute scoring droughtt allowing the Gators to cut their lead to four points with scoring from Thomas Haugh, Urban Klavazan, and Alex Condon, who all scored double digits in the game. Alex Condon was the Gators’ leading scorer with 21 points, Thomas Haugh added 19 points, and Xaivian Lee added 17 points.
The Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team hadn’t reached the Sweet-Sixteen since the 1998-99 NCAA tournament as the number 5 seed. This year, the Hawkeyes are the number 9 seed and have beaten the #8 seed Clemson Tigers 67-61 in the first round, and the 2024-2025 National Champion, and #1 seed in this year’s tournament 73-72 with a three-pointer by Alvaro Folgueiras with 4.5 seconds left in that game. The Hawkeyes had four players score double digits. Tavion Banks added 20 points, Alvaro Folgueriras added 14 points, Bennett Stirtz added 13 points, and Cooper Koch added 12 points.
The Hawkeyes stayed poised and didn’t panic when the Gators regained the lead down three points with 2 minutes left to go in the game. Florida’s late-game decision-making and shot selections were costly. Both teams were able to score baskets in the paint throughout the game, but instead of Florida leaning on their guards to drive into the paint and pass to a big man underneath the basket, they settled for a three-pointer. The Gators could have extended their lead to three points, but a key free throw was missed, which would be costly down the line. Iowa outscored Florida in the paint 32-30, bench points 16-8, points off turnovers 11-8. The points in the paint stick out the most because of the opportunities they had throughout the game to make easy baskets.
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Iowa for the game shot better than 51% from the field to 50%, and from behind the 3-point line the Gators shot better, 31.6% to 29.2%, and the free throw advantage went Florida’s way, making 20-27 to Iowa’s 14-22. The Hawkeyes were a significant underdog in this tournament game and will be moving forward to the Sweet Sixteen to play #4 Nebraska.