There will be no repeat champion in men’s college basketball.
No. 1 seed Florida has been eliminated from the NCAA Tournament, losing to No. 9 seed Iowa 73-72 in the second round matchup and sending the Gators home early.
The Hawkeyes did it in stunning fashion: down two points with eight seconds left, Bennett Stirtz drove down the court and found a wide open Alvaro Folgueiras for a go-ahead 3-pointer with four seconds left. Florida was unable to respond with its last chance.
"This is really special for the dreamers, and there is no better dreamer than us," Folgueiras said on the broadcast after the win.
The defending champions entered the Sunday, March 22, game fresh off their massive blowout victory of No. 16 seed Prairie View A&M in the first round, scoring a tournament high 114 points in the win. Two days later, the Gators looked nothing like the team that earned a top seed in the NCAA bracket.
