4.5 Seconds Was All It Took
There are moments in March Madness that make you put your drink down. Alvaro Folgueiras catching a pass in the corner, squaring up with 4.5 seconds left, and burying a three-pointer to end Florida's championship dreams — that's one of them. Iowa 73, Florida 72. A No. 9 seed just knocked out the defending national champion in the Round of 32. Every bracket in America is now garbage. And somewhere, an Iowa Hawkeyes fan who hadn't smiled since 1999 is losing their mind. This is March. This is why we watch.
How Iowa Did It
Iowa didn't beat Florida by accident. The Hawkeyes came in with a game plan and executed it — and credit has to go to Bennett Stirtz for controlling the pace from the jump. [3] Stirtz did exactly what you need a point guard to do in an upset situation: he took the crowd out of it early, pushed the tempo when Florida was scrambling, and slowed it down when the Gators tried to run. Florida wanted a track meet. Iowa gave them a chess match. That's a problem for a team that relies on momentum and 3-point shooting to generate offense. The real killer? Florida shot 32% from deep. [2] That's not just below their season average — that's a collapse. The Gators made a living beyond the arc all year. When that stroke goes cold in March, you're done. There's no backup plan. No mid-range game to fall back on. No post presence that can punish you when the threes stop dropping. Florida's entire offensive identity evaporated, and Iowa was disciplined enough to take advantage. The game was tight all the way through, which is what made the ending so brutal. Florida had chances. They had the lead at multiple points in the second half. But when it mattered most, with the ball in Folgueiras' hands and the clock winding down, a junior who very few casual fans had heard of before last night hit the biggest shot of his life. That's college basketball. That's why upsets happen. Stars don't win every game — moments do.
