Alvaro Folgueiras drained a wide-open 3-pointer from the right corner with 4.5 seconds left to give Iowa a dramatic 73-72 victory over defending national champion Florida in a South Region second-round game at Tampa, Fla.

Tavian Banks had 20 points and six rebounds, and Folgueiras added 14 points as the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (23-12) posted one of the biggest upsets in recent NCAA Tournament play. Bennett Stirtz added 13 points and Cooper Koch had 12 on four 3-pointers as Iowa reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999.

“As far as my guys go, it’s just tough. That’s all it is. It’s just tough kids. They fight. They compete. They stick with it,” first-year Iowa coach Ben McCollum said. “They exemplify everything that we’ve wanted in Iowa basketball. They’ve established the foundation that we’ve desperately needed, and (I) couldn’t be any more proud of them.”

Alex Condon recorded 21 points and seven assists and Thomas Haugh added 19 points for top-seeded Florida (27-8), which won its opener by 59 points over Prairie View A&M. Xaivian Lee added 17 points but was unable to get a shot off in the final seconds after driving down the court, failing to complete an attempted pass to Haugh in front of the basket.

“As I told the team, it was a 67-possession game and a lot is going to be made out of the last possession, as it should in a game like this,” Florida coach Todd Golden said. “But there were a lot of things that we did not do in the other 66 possessions that allowed the game to be in that type of situation where they could hit a three to walk us off.”

Iowa will face fourth-seeded Nebraska — a fellow Big Ten program — in the Sweet 16 Thursday in Houston.

The Gators took a 67-66 lead on two free throws by Haugh with 3:23 remaining.

Florida later led by three after Lee’s driving hoop before Stirtz hit a jumper with 57.3 seconds left to make it a one-point game.

Stirtz missed a potential go-ahead shot with about 11 seconds left. Florida’s Isaiah Brown was fouled and split two free throws with 8.9 seconds to play.

Stirtz then dribbled up court and spotted the open Folgueiras, who hit the massive shot.

“Yeah, the play was drawn up for me to get downhill, and then this dude came up to me and he’s like, ‘I’m going to be ready and I’m going to make it.’ That’s what he actually did,” Stirtz said of Folgueiras, who confirmed he said as much.

“I don’t trust in confidence. It’s as simple as that. I’m the same player. I make it or I miss it,” Folgueiras said. “With that mentality, I just don’t let mistakes affect me a lot. Sometimes I do a better job than other times, but that’s the intention.”

Iowa shot 51% from the field, including 7 of 24 from 3-point range (29.2%), and led for more than 26 minutes.

The Gators made 50% of their shots and were 6 of 19 from 3-point range (31.6%). Florida led for just 9:21.

Iowa led by one early in the second half before rattling off 13 of the next 15 points. Banks and Koch drained 3-pointers, and Folgueiras added a layup to give the Hawkeyes a 46-37 lead with 15:24 remaining.

After Condon hit a jumper for the Gators, Stirtz buried a pull-up jumper, and Koch drilled another trey to make it 51-39 with 14:13 left.

Florida awoke with a 21-7 run. Condon delivered a ferocious dunk to bring the Gators within 55-51 with 10:41 remaining.

Condon later slammed home another dunk to finish the surge and give Florida a 60-58 lead, its first since early in the first half.

After Koch hit a trey 16 seconds later to put the Hawkeyes back ahead, Haugh connected on a 3-pointer to give the Gators a 63-61 edge with 6:35 left. Haugh made another basket 57 seconds later before Stirtz made two free throws and Koch hit a trey to give Iowa a 66-65 edge with 4:17 left.

Banks scored 14 points in the first half as Iowa held a 33-31 lead. Lee had 10 points in the half for Florida, which missed nine consecutive shots and went 9:23 between field goals during one stretch.

–Field Level Media