Sweet 16 chaos
No. 9 Iowa stunned defending champion Florida on a last-second three from Alvaro Folgueiras to knock off a top seed — a buzzer-beater that flipped brackets nationwide. (usatoday.com) Big Ten momentum is real this week — the conference has six teams still standing in the Sweet 16. (espn.com)
Alvaro Folgueiras finished with 14 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes against Florida, shooting 50% from three in the game. (espn.com) Folgueiras is a junior from Málaga, Spain (born April 1, 2005), listed at 6-foot-10, who transferred to Iowa after starring at Robert Morris where he earned Horizon League honors. (hawkeyesports.com) Iowa’s victory gave the program its first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999, snapping a 27-year gap between regional-semifinal trips for the Hawkeyes. (hawkeyesports.com) Ben McCollum — who was hired as Iowa’s head coach in March 2025 — reached the Sweet 16 in his first season leading the Hawks. (hawkeyesports.com) The Big Ten has six teams remaining in the Sweet 16 — Purdue, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan and Michigan State — the most the conference has ever had advance to this round. (bigten.org) Through the tournament’s first two rounds the Big Ten went 13-3 and sent nine teams into the field of 68, leaving six alive — one fewer than the SEC’s benchmark set in 2025. (usatoday.com) Iowa is scheduled to meet No. 4-seed Nebraska in the South Region Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET on TBS. (ncaa.com)
