TAMPA – The silence inside Benchmark International Arena said everything Sunday after the reigning champion Florida Gators fell to Iowa, 73-72. Thomas Haugh hit the floor at the buzzer, Florida’s season was over, and a building full of Gators fans was left asking the same thing: What went wrong?
In a fast-paced basketball game, a loss can’t be blamed on the final seconds alone.
Yes, Florida had a chance. Isaiah Brown was fouled with eight seconds left with a chance to push the lead to three, but he split the free throws, leaving the Gators up only two. Four seconds later, Alvaro Folgueiras buried a corner three to put Iowa ahead by one.
Yes, Florida pressed in the final seconds, losing sight of Bennett Stirtz as he raced up the floor and found Folgueiras in the corner. And yes, on the final possession, Xaivian Lee pushed the length of the court but couldn’t get a shot off in time, finding Haugh, who couldn’t secure the pass before the buzzer.
But the loss wasn’t defined by those final seconds alone – it was shaped by what happened across the full 40 minutes.
“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,” Gators 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 3 to walk us off.”
Florida looked out of sync for much of the first half, unable to find any rhythm until the closing minutes as it chipped away at Iowa’s 12-point lead. The Hawkeyes simply played with more edge, bringing a level of toughness and urgency that outmatched the reigning champions.
Coming into Sunday’s matchup, a key for Florida was limiting Iowa from beyond the arc – and to its credit, the Gators delivered. They held the Hawkeyes to just 29% (7-for-24) from beyond the arc and even shot better at 32% (6-for-19). Florida also held the advantage at the free-throw line, 74% to 64%, while the teams were nearly identical from the field, with Iowa shooting 51% (26-for-51) and Florida close behind at 50% (23-for-46).
One of the biggest difference makers was that Iowa forced the Gators to play its slow, disciplined half-court game. That slow half-court pace forced Florida into uncomfortable looks in the first half, as the Gators shot just 37% from the field.
“Overall a disappointing result for us tonight, but credit Iowa. I thought they played well, especially in the first half,” Golden said. “They had us on our heels a little bit, and I thought they were physically tougher than us in the first half.”
Loading ...On the defensive side of the ball, the Gators made some uncharacteristic mistakes. One of the nation’s premier defensive teams built on suffocating, paint-heavy, one-on-one pressure, Florida saw that identity challenged by Iowa’s disciplined attack led by Stirtz. Those defensive gaps helped the Hawkeyes shoot 78.6% inside the 3-point arc in the first half.
“We’ve been one of the best two-point field-goal defenses in America,” Golden said. “We just didn’t do it tonight.”
Another reason for Florida’s defensive struggles was foul trouble. Rueben Chinyelu picked up his fourth foul early in the second half and was limited to just 19 minutes. His absence for most of crunch time was felt from an anchor who averaged 11.7 rebounds per game, winning SEC defensive player of the year. He finished the game with zero points and one rebound.
Another key factor was Iowa matching, and even out playing, Florida in the paint and on the glass.
Coming into this matchup, the Gators led the nation with 45.7 rebounds per game, while Iowa ranked 357th at just 28. But Sunday told a different story. The teams finished even on the glass with 27 rebounds apiece, due in large part to the absence of Chinyelu’s presence inside.
Iowa also had the edge in the paint (32-30) and in second-chance points (7-6) — a stark contrast to Florida’s season identity. The Gators averaged 16.7 second-chance points per game this season, nearly doubling Iowa’s 9.2 average.
Instead, Iowa dictated the game, forcing Florida out of its comfort zone and into a style that favored the Hawkeyes.
Alex Condon and Lee were the only two Gators to consistently make an impact, finishing with 21 and 17 points, respectively. Haugh came alive in the second half, emerging as a key piece in Florida’s late push with 19 points.
Condon also found himself in foul trouble late, picking up his fourth with three minutes left, which further disrupted Florida’s defensive rhythm.
The double technical between Condon and Folgueiras, who appeared to throw a punch, dominated the conversation Sunday into Monday.. And yes, there’s some truth to speculation about how that could have affected Condon and whether Florida sending Iowa to the free-throw line before suffering a 3-point dagger ultimately ended the season.
But truthfully, too many scenarios went wrong and not enough went right for the Gators.
That was it. The defending national champions – the one-seed in the South – fell to a group of Drake, Kansas State and Robert Morris transfers who simply outplayed them.
It’s a cruel loss for a team talented enough to make a deep tournament run, made even tougher by how close Florida came to escaping with a win to make the Sweet 16. The Gators dug out of the hole just a little too late, as it all came down to the last possession.
So what went wrong for the Gators? Well, they call it March Madness for a reason.
“That (last defensive) possession is going to be talked about a lot, but I think when we watch the tape, especially in the first half, we didn’t finish well enough around the rim and did not prevent them from finishing well enough around the rim,” Golden said.
