A Late Clutch Shot Ousts Defending Champs

The first No. 1 seed has been ousted from the men's NCAA tournament—the defending champs, no less. Top-seeded Florida fell Sunday to No. 9 Iowa, 73-72, after Alvaro Folgueiras drilled a go-ahead three-pointer with four seconds left, reports USA Today. Watch it here. Florida, which scored a tournament-best 114 points in its opening blowout of Prairie View A&M, spent most of the game chasing Iowa after the Hawkeyes built a double-digit first-half lead and went up by as many as 12 in the second.

The Gators briefly seized control late, only to watch Iowa close it out and become the first No. 9 seed to reach the Sweet 16 since Florida Atlantic in 2023, and the ninth ever to knock off a No. 1. It was "stunning," in the eyes of NBC Sports. The upset guarantees there will be no repeat champion, keeping UConn as the last back-to-back winner and extending a rough trend: eight of the past nine champs have failed to reach the Sweet 16. First-year coach Ben McCollum's Hawkeyes now face Big Ten rival Nebraska in Houston on Thursday.