Florida vs. Iowa takeaways: Gators humbled with earliest exit as No. 1 seed in NCAA Tournament

Basketball

0

Image Credit: UAA

The reigning national champions saw their title defense come to a crashing halt Sunday night as the No. 1 seed Florida Gators fell 73-72 to the No. 9 seed Iowa Hawkeyes, getting eliminated in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. For a Florida team with aspirations of winning a second straight crown, it was a crushing defeat that came in unusual fashion.

The Gators lost for just the second time ever as a No. 1 seed (17-2), the second time all season when leading with 5 minutes remaining (27-2) and only the third time in NCAA Tournament play to a team positioned as a No. 9 seed or lower (20-3). However, their loss also marked the 17th time in the last 18 seasons that the defending national champion lost before reaching the Elite Eight the following year.

Reasons for Florida’s loss were plentiful, but the defeat can best be summed up as Iowa largely beating the top team in the South Region at its own game. Though the Gators pressed forward and led in the closing stretch, it was too little, too late for a team that did too much wrong over the majority of the contest.

Let’s take a look at what went wrong as Florida’s season came to a close with some Fastbreak Takeaways.

It was over when … senior guard Xaivian Lee got caught under the basket, unable to get a shot off as the final buzzer sounded. Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras, who should have been but was not ejected in the first half after throwing a punch while battling for a loose ball, drained a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds remaining to give the Hawkeyes a one-point scoring margin in their upset victory.

Florida’s early struggles continued into the second half as juniors center Rueben Chinyelu and forward Alex Condon each picked up their third fouls, and Iowa exploded on a 13-2 run with three consecutive makes from downtown. The Gators were suddenly down 12 points with 14 minutes to play, and though junior F Thomas Haugh responded with six straight points for UF, Chinyelu committed his fourth foul with 12:20 left, effectively putting the top seed down a starter.

The Gators wound up playing better overall and more fluidly on offense without Chinyelu in the game. Six straight points from Condon and a massive triple from Lee led a timely 15-3 run, giving UF its first lead in nearly 29 game minutes. The Gators went up four with 5:38 to play on the back of six straight made baskets, but the Hawkeyes immediately answered with a 5-0 run to regain their lead.

Florida held a three-point advantage with 1:58 left when officials took possession away from the top seed, missing a foul committed on sophomore G Boogie Fland and giving the ball to Iowa on a review. The Hawkeyes immediately cut their deficit to one before excellent paint defense by Fland got UF back to the free-throw line. Sophomore G Isaiah Brown made only one of two attempts, opening a window that Iowa closed in the final seconds.

First half focus: Florida got off to an inauspicious start. Despite flashing early backcourt dominance, the Gators fell into a lengthy lull, missing nine consecutive shots over 9:23 as the Hawkeyes pieced together a 15-2 run to take a 23-13 lead. Though Folgueiras threw a punch while battling for a loose ball with Condon, officials controversially ruled the skirmish a double technical foul. Florida ultimately rallied, outscoring Iowa 16-9 over the final 6:53, but it only managed to tie the game for 27 seconds, entering halftime with a 2-point deficit.

The Gators’ star-studded frontcourt missed its first nine shots and went 2 of 12 in the period — consistently failing on gimmies around the rim — with three of the team’s six turnovers. They were outrebounded 18-14 by the Hawkeyes with UF’s 37.0% mark from the field among its worst in a half this season.

Exceptional efforts: The frontcourt was awful in the first half, but Condon and Haugh came alive later, scoring 29 of their 40 points after the break to fuel the comeback effort. Haugh only went 3 of 11 from the field but hit 11 of 12 free throws, while Condon missed four key gimies at the charity stripe, making 8 of 13 baskets. They combined for 11 boards, and Condon delivered a game-high seven assists, but the duo also committed five of UF’s 11 turnovers. Despite his poor decision-making on the final possession, Lee similarly kept Florida in the game with his second-half offense. He finished with 17 points, draining 3 of 6 triples.

Wrong time for The Ruler: Chinyelu had been incredible for the Gators all season … only to have the worst game of his career Sunday night. Tough interior work from the Hawkeyes on both ends — plus one questionable early foul — got UF’s big man off his game. He finished with more fouls (four) than points (zero) and rebounds (one) combined. Chinyelu only took one shot and played just 19 minutes as Florida moved the ball far better without him on the court, an adjustment head coach Todd Golden arguably made far too late. The big man also fell eight boards short of Al Horford’s single-season defensive rebounding record.

Odds & ends: Florida lost its first meeting with Iowa on the hardwood … the Gators are now 20-3 against teams seeded No. 9 or lower in NCAA Tournament play … UF is now 52-21 in the NCAA Tournament, 12-7 in the second round and 7-2 under Golden … Florida lost for the second time ever as a No. 1 seed, falling to 17-2; it had advanced to the FInal Four on all three prior occasions (2007, 2014, 2025) … UF was a No. 1 seed in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history …

The Gators ended the season under Golden going 3-6 when trailing at halftime, 1-3 when being outrebounded, 18-7 when committing the same or more turnovers, 2-7 when an opponent shoots 45% or better from the field, 2-8 when being outshot by an opponent (every loss), 9-6 when losing the bench scoring battle and 27-8 when three players or fewer score in double figures (every loss) … Florida took a rare defeat when leading with 5 minutes left (17-2), shooting 45% or better from the field (21-3), outshooting an opponent from 3-point range (15-2) and attempting more free throws (18-3)

What it means: The Gators were beaten at their own game, in rather embarrassing fashion. While the officiating undoubtedly played a role across both halves — especially the first — Florida ultimately has no one to blame but itself, especially considering how many easy shots were missed early in the game and how poorly it played during three key sequences, including on the game’s final two possessions. UF entered Sunday night leading the nation in rebounding margin, offensive rebounds per game and overall rebounds per game. It got matched on the boards (27-27) and outdone by one on the offensive glass by an Iowa team that ranked 165th nationally in rebounding.

Fland, who was dynamite in the first round, was nowhere near aggressive enough considering he made his final 12 field goals of the season from inside the arc. Chinyelu’s complete ineffectiveness left a massive hole in the middle, and the Gators put themselves in too big a deficit. They should have been pulling away at the end of the game, not climbing out of the basement. Golden absolutely deserves a level of blame for not adjusting his offense earlier — and not setting Florida up for success on the final two plays of the game — but UF had so much go wrong that was within its control that it’s tough to put too much on the coach or officiating, even if the latter absolutely contributed to puting Florida behind the 8-ball in key moments.

What’s next? Haugh, Condon and Chinyelu will all test the NBA Draft waters. Condon was expected to be a lottery selection last season before falling off near the end of the year as Haugh stepped forward. Just 12 months later, the roles were somewhat reversed over the last few weeks.

Fland and Lee, considering their uneven and often poor offensive play this season, will have tough decisions to make, too. The Gators may look like an entirely different team in 2026-27. Golden’s job is certainly not in jeopardy. In fact, potentially open positions at Kansas and North Carolina could lead to a bidding war for his services and another raise.

Florida’s poor play across three of its final four games this season should not take away what it otherwise accomplished, including winning the program’s first regular-season SEC championship since 2014 and becoming the first version of the team in history to earn back-to-back No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.