Todd Golden Details Refs' Explanation for Controversial Double-Tech in Loss to Iowa

TAMPA-- You would think the Florida Gators and Iowa were bitter rivals the way Sunday's game played out with aggressive play, coaches jawing and a controversial punch/no punch between Hawkeyes forward Alvaro Folgueiras and Florida's Alex Condon.

Battling for a rebound, Condon and Folgueiras were tied up, with Condon wrestling Folguerias to the floor. Then, it appeared that Folguerias threw a punch.

Tensions are high in Tampa.

Iowa & Florida had to be separated after this play. pic.twitter.com/KVgBT9Bs3M
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 22, 2026

As a pile began to form, Florida head coach Todd Golden ran onto the floor to break things up. Condon walked away with the ball, the officials went to the monitor to review the play and both benches began to exchange pleasantries towards each other.

The result: technicals on Folgueiras and Condon, and Iowa retained possession.

What ensued afterwards, especially considering Folgueiras ended up scoring the game-winning 3-pointer with four seconds remaining, was a debate on whether Folgueiras should have been ejected, if he was aiming to punch out the ball or if the play was a microcosm of an overall aggressive game by both teams.

After the game, Condon said he "wasn't sure" if Folgueiras hit him or not, saying that he was doing everything he could to fight for a loose ball. Folgueiras said he did not throw a punch.

"It's as simple as we were fighting for the ball," he said. "We both fall and we kept fighting for the ball, and people kind of overreacted. I didn't throw any punch. It was just a thing of the game."

Florida head coach Todd Golden explained what the officials told him regarding the play.

"I was told that they threw a punch, but it didn't connect, so it didn't go any higher than a
flagrant 1," he 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."

🥊 pic.twitter.com/SnlzFwGRFi
— Nick de la Torre (@delatorre) March 22, 2026

Debate will continue to arise on whether Folgueiras should have been ejected or not, and the irony of him hitting the game-winning shot will only add to it. Golden does not look at it that way, though.

"I didn't really care who took it. I was just more disappointed that they made it," Golden said. "I wasn't thinking about the loose ball double technical in terms of him being the one that made the shot."

Nonetheless, Florida had its opportunities to avoid the upset on Sunday. The frontcourt, which had been the Gators' best unit this season, was nonexistent in the first half, while the final two possessions – Folgueiras' 3-pointer after beating a questionable press call and Xaivian Lee passing up the game-winning shot to pass it to Thomas Haugh – in the second half clinched a defeat.

Any of those can be pointed to why Florida lost, Golden said.

"As I told the team, it was a 67-possession game and a lot is going to be made out of the last possession, as it should in a game like this. But there were a lot of things that we did not do in the other 66 possessions that allowed the game to be in that type of situation where they could hit a three to walk us off," Golden said. "That possession is going to be talked about a lot, but I think when we watch the tape, especially in the first half, we didn't finish well enough around the rim and we did not prevent them from finishing well enough around the rim.

"... Obviously we played really well the last 14 minutes, but we dug ourselves too big of a hole."