Iowa's Alvaro Folgueiras Reflects on Quiet Elite Eight Performance

There were plenty of reasons why the Iowa Hawkeyes failed to make their first Final Four since 1980, but Alvaro Folgueiras was certainly one of those.

The 6-foot-10 forward doesn't deserve to have the loss put solely on his shoulders, but he simply didn't get the job done against Illinois, and he knows it.

First-year head coach Ben McCollum had Folgueiras on the floor for just nine minutes, a number that doesn't seem fathomable after he drilled the go-away three against No. 1 Florida.

McCollum was the reason this Hawkeyes team got so far in the first place, so his reasons for not playing Folgueiras much against the Fighting Illini were more than justified.

Folgueiras Discusses Off Night vs. Illinois

Alvaro Folgueiras had 0 points in 9 minutes tonight.

“I feel bad. I never got in the game. Those early mistakes, my coach thinks I wasn’t ready to go. In the Elite Eight, I would never let that happen. This March was great. I had some great moments. It just wasn’t there (today)…
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) March 29, 2026

"I feel bad. I never got in the game," he told Chad Leistikow of Hawk Central. "Those early mistakes, my coach thinks I wasn’t ready to go. In the Elite Eight, I would never let that happen."

Sadly for Folgueiras, he did lead that happen, and that sealed his fate. No matter what, Folgueiras will always have the Florida game to look back on, but this loss still stings as he knows what could've been.

"This March was great. I had some great moments. It just wasn’t there (today) … as a team and as a player. I feel bad,” he said.

Folgueiras was one of the rare non-Drake transfers on this team. He came from Robert Morris, a team that had him start 34 games a year ago. He started just one for Iowa this season as his minutes per game went from 29.4 to 20.8. Keep in mind, he averaged just 19.0 minutes per game in the NCAA tournament.

Iowa Should Have Folgueiras Back Next Season

Iowa F — Mar 26, 2026; Houston, TX, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes forward Alvaro Folgueiras (7) reacts after beating the Nebraska Cornhuskers during a Sweet Sixteen game of the South Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images | Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

The Spain native could decide that playing for McCollum doesn't suit him and he wants to enter the transfer portal, but that would be an interesting decision, to say the least. That said, nothing is surprising anymore in the modern era of college athletics

Folgueiras dropped 14 points against No. 8 Clemson and No. 1 Florida and then scored 16 against No. 4 Nebraska. He was scoreless against No. 3 Illinois and was just 0-for-2 from the field. He didn't attempt fewer than five shots in any of his first three tournament games.

Nine minutes is alarming as it's the fewest minutes he's played in a game since Dec. 6 against Maryland. Those are the only two times he's been held to single-digit minutes all year, and in the Elite Eight, it simply couldn't have come at a worse time.

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