The Stats That Defined Iowa's Upset Win Over Florida

The Iowa Hawkeyes did the unthinkable when they slayed the No. 1-seed and reigning national champions, the Florida Gators, 73-72. It became one of the top wins in program history and easily the best win of Ben McCollum's time at the helm of the program.

Many were quick to credit Alvaro Folgueiras for the win, and rightfully so, for hitting the game-winning 3-pointer. But the Hawkeyes wouldn't have been in the game until the end if it weren't for their presence in the paint.

For just the fourth time this season, Florida did not out-rebound its opponent. That's right, Iowa, the 354th rebounding team in the nation, tied the No. 1 rebounding team with 27 boards apiece in the second round win. Florida averaged nearly 15.5 more rebounds per game than Iowa did entering the contest.

The only other opponent the Gators tied their rebound total with in a game this season was against Missouri in January, and the only time they were out-rebounded was against Texas in February in Arizona in November.

"It's who we have to be. We have to get 50-50 balls, we have to make sure that we increase our possessions, we do have to be physical and we just have to fight," McCollum said after the win.

Offensively, Iowa truly bested Florida's interior with 32 points in the paint to the Gators' 30. Entering this matchup, Florida had 358 more points in the paint than the Hawkeyes and had a scoring margin of +454 points against their opponents across the entire season. It was just the fifth time that Florida was out-scored in the paint, too.

"I thought we did a good job of really executing what we wanted from an offensive standpoint," McCollum said.

Iowa Shocks the Swamp

Mar 22, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Kael Combs (11) celebrates after defeating the Florida Gators in a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images | Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images

The win was shocking, the stats are eye-popping, but perhaps the most mind-bogging part was that the offensive game plan wasn't installed until hours before tip-off.

McCollum said he was up around 2 to 3 a.m. the morning of the game when he thought of packages to install at practice a few hours later.

"It was in our normal stuff, but there were a few reads, a few movement patterns that we thought would really affect their ability to defend our ball screen," McCollum said. "We knew they'd stay home on Bennett [Stirtz], so we put him in different spits because then you're playing 4-on-4 and sometimes 3-on-3 depending upon who they are staying home on."

Iowa will need to play at its best on both sides of the ball in the Sweet 16 against long-time rivals Nebraska on March 26. The Cornhuskers had a huge 74-72 win over No. 5-seed Vanderbilt in the Round of 32.

The season series between Iowa and Nebraska is split at 1-1, with the Cornhuskers besting the Hawkeyes 84-75 in overtime on March 8. Iowa's win was a 57-52 slugfest on Feb. 17.

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