Florida’s Todd Golden Was Confused Why Refs Didn’t Eject Iowa Hero for Throwing Punch

Florida coach Todd Golden addressed a first quarter incident in which Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras appeared to throw a punch at an opponent but didn’t get ejected. | Screengrab on Twitter/ @NoahB77_

No. 9 Iowa knocked out No. 1 Florida in a 73-72 upset thriller in the second round of the NCAA tournament, playing spoiler to the defending champs’ repeat hopes this March. The Hawkeyes clinched one of their all-time biggest wins in program history after Alvaro Folgueiras sank a go-ahead three-pointer with just seconds remaining, a player who stayed in the game despite being involved in an ugly incident in the first half.

Early in the game, Folgueiras was seen throwing a punch while tussling for the ball with Florida’s Alex Condon, but he didn’t get ejected. The Iowa forward got tangled up with Condon while both players were battling for a rebound; Condon twisted his body and threw Folgueiras to the floor, and then Folgueiras clenched his fist and threw a punch toward the ball—or at Condon, or both.

The refs reviewed the play and assessed technical fouls to Folgueiras and Condon, despite the game’s announcers speculating that the Iowa player could be rightfully ejected for a Flagrant 2.

After Folgueiras nailed the three that sent the Gators packing, Florida coach Todd Golden spoke about the testy early-game incident.

“Yeah, I was told that [Folgueiras] threw a punch, but it didn't connect so it didn't go any higher than a Flagrant 1,” Golden said. “I'm not exactly sure what this means. I still don't understand why Condo got a technical. They were both fighting for the ball equally, Condo was just stronger and pulled him down to the floor. But they were both grabbing the ball. It was a confusing play and I'm not really sure how that landed on that result.”

In the postgame presser Florida Coach Todd Golden said the officials told him that Alvaro threw a punch but since it didn’t connect, there wasn’t validation for an ejection.

Folgeuiras would go on to hit the game winning shot and be Iowa’s second leading scorer in the game https://t.co/xmtw2v2lVl pic.twitter.com/eDavavzaIW

— Noah Bieniek (Bee-Nick) (@NoahB77_) March 23, 2026

In their respective postgame pressers, Condon said he wasn’t sure if Folgueiras threw a punch, while Folgueiras denied it altogether. Replay videos clearly show the Iowa forward taking a swing at something with his right fist, and given that Folgueiras was half-holding onto the ball at that point, it seems strange that he would try to punch it out himself.

“I'm going to make sure I get every loose ball and set the standard with our physicality,” Condon said of his scuffle with Folgueiras. “Ended up with a double technical and they got the ball back. I didn't really know if he hit me or not, but I'm sure we'll see it and look back at it.”

Regardless, the officiating looked rough for both sides during Iowa’s underdog win. Later in the contest, Florida center Rueben Chinyelu was seen barreling into an Iowa player who was trying to box him out, and Chinyelu got off scot-free.

In the end, one would be hard-pressed to say Iowa’s victory wasn’t deserved. The scrappy Hawkeyes out-muscled the defending champs in the paint, led for the majority of the game and were able to grit out the upset thanks to Folgueiras’s clutch shot—even if some bitter Florida fans believed he should have been thrown out of the game earlier.

Iowa advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1999 and will play No. 4 Nebraska on Thursday night in Houston.

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