Iowa Player Trolls Florida’s Todd Golden With Petty Celebration in His Face After Upset Win

Iowa stunned No. 1 Florida in a 73-72 upset win in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, and as the underdog victors, they had to celebrate accordingly.

Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras nailed what would be the game-winning three-pointer in the final seconds of the contest to clinch the Hawkeyes’ first Sweet 16 berth since 1999, and afterward, a few Iowa players were seen rightfully fired-up about the victory.

Seconds after the final buzzer sounded and the defending national champs were eliminated, Iowa’s Cooper Koch was seen performing the iconic Gator Chomp while walking across the court. He appeared to be looking into the stands as he did his petty celebration (the game was played in front of a pro-Gator crowd in Tampa), but he also “chomped” just a few feet away from Florida coach Todd Golden on the sidelines.

Take a look at the priceless moment below:

HAWKEYE HEARTBREAK #Gators run at a second straight title ends in Tampa

It’s their first NCAA Tournament loss in the state of Florida in 23 years

Iowa is bam in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1999#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/6POdwuBMFv
— Daren Stoltzfus WESH (@DarenStoltzfus) March 23, 2026

What a legendary—and gutsy—move.

If there was any doubt as to whether Golden saw Koch or not, this screengrab from the video offers a pretty clear answer:

Iowa, Cooper Koch, Todd Golden, Florida — Iowa’s Cooper Koch trolls Florida’s Todd Golden with the Gator Chomp after the Hawkeyes’ win. | Screengrab on Twitter/ @DarenStoltzfus

Koch, who’s a freshman forward, may still have plenty to learn in his young collegiate career. Knowing how to antagonize a No. 1 seed is not one of them. Koch went so far as to do the Gator Chomp another time in the handshake line as he waited to shake hands with his opponents, and at that point you could argue he was pushing the boundaries of sportsmanship.

pic.twitter.com/AT92gOfwe7
— Eliot Clough (@EliotClough) March 23, 2026

Koch finished with 12 points in 28 minutes while adding three rebounds and one assist. He scored all of his points in the second half, which saw him make 4-of-6 three-pointers; Sunday’s win marked his fourth game this season with at least four treys.

“My teammates are finding me in the right spots, run the right plays,” Koch said postgame of his performance. “Everyone’s getting their chance to score. ... Hoping to get back here a lot more, but we’re not done this year. We got a couple more games to go.”

Koch was one of four players to put up double-digit points in what turned out to be a historic upset for the No. 9-seeded Hawkeyes. The narrow win over Florida was Iowa’s second all-time against a top-seeded team (the first was the 1980 squad’s 88-77 win over No. 1 Syracuse in the Sweet 16).

While Koch was riding the high of the moment and couldn’t resist sending Florida fans home with one last trolling gesture, Hawkeyes coach Ben McCollum shared a classy message to the Gators after Sunday’s game:

“First off, congrats to Florida on their season. Obviously very well-coached, very physical team, defending national champions. ... I’ve got a lot of respect for their program,” McCollum said in his postgame presser. “As far as my guys go, it's just tough. That's all it is. It's just tough kids. They fight. They compete. They stick with it. They exemplify everything that we've wanted in Iowa basketball. They've established the foundation that we've desperately needed and couldn't be any more proud of them.”

Iowa now moves on to a Sweet 16 matchup against No. 4 Nebraska in Houston on Thursday night, which will mark their third head-to-head game this year and first-ever NCAA tournament meeting. The two teams tied 1-1 in the regular season, with Nebraska most recently besting the Hawkeyes in a 84-75 overtime win on March 8.

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