Iowa stuns No. 1 Florida, Sets Up Unlikely Sweet 16 Rubber Match with Nebraska

Well, very few saw this one coming.

When Nebraska walked off the court following an 84-75 win over border rival Iowa on Senior Day, there was an unspoken “vibe” to the ending that it wasn’t likely the two programs would renew the rivalry until the 2026-27 season.

Well, to pull from former college football coach turned College Gameday analyst Lee Corso – “not so fast, my friend!”

Nebraska will not only see Iowa again this season, but now it’s with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.

The Iowa bench erupts after a last second three pointer put them in the lead for good against #1 Florida Sunday. — The Iowa bench erupts after a last second three pointer put them in the lead for good against No. 1 Florida Sunday. | Alan Youngblood/Gainesville Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

March has a way of rewriting scripts, and on Sunday night, No 9-seed Iowa stunned No. 1-seed Florida to punch its ticket to the Sweet 16, setting up something that might not appear on many of the millions of filled-out brackets — a third meeting between Huskers and Hawkeyes, this time on the biggest stage either program has ever shared with each other.

It’s a rubber match with the Elite Eight at stake, and for Nebraska, it’s a chance to take its most historic season one step further. The Huskers arrive in this moment having already rewritten most of their history books.

At 28-6, Nebraska has already set a new single-season program record for wins, surpassing the 26-win mark from 1990-91. More importantly, it has done something no team in program history had ever accomplished before this month — winning not one, but two NCAA Tournament games to reach the Sweet 16.

Nebraska's set a new standard for the men's basketball program in 2026, and their dream run now rolls into a familiar foe. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For the fellas in Lincoln, none of this happened by accident.

“We’ve been doing this all year — just sticking together,” freshman Braden Frager said after Nebraska’s win over Vanderbilt. “I think that’s what makes us so special.”

NU’s identity of togetherness, trust and composure has carried Nebraska through two very different tournament wins. In the opening-round against Troy, the Huskers leaned on efficiency and control, finishing with 20 assists to just six turnovers while forcing 17 turnovers on the other end. Against Vanderbilt Saturday night, they were tested in ways that more closely resemble what March basketball demands — pressure, runs and chaos.

Regardless of the opponent, Nebraska responded the same way.

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said he's been thrilled with how his team has overcome adversity through their first two games. — Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said he's been thrilled with how his team has overcome adversity through their first two NCAA Tournament games. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

“We’ve talked going into this tournament – if you want to advance, it’s all about how you handle adversity and our guys did a masterful job of hanging in there,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said following his team’s 74-72 win over Vanderbilt.

That ability to hang in and not panic during momentum swings is what has allowed Nebraska to survive long enough for its defining moment to unfold. Against Vandy, that moment, of course, came in the final seconds.

With the season on the line, the ball found Pryce Sandfort, Nebraska’s leading scorer and one of the most prolific shooters in the country. Sandfort, with the sixth-most single-season points in program history, had every reason to take the shot, but after the defense collapsed on him, Sandfort made the right read.

“I saw Braden standing there wide open,” Sandfort said. “He was screaming at me for the ball, so I knew he was about to go make a play.”

Braden Frager's game-winning shot against Vanderbilt still has Lincoln abuzz. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Frager did exactly that, finishing at the rim to give Nebraska its game-winning moment to send the Huskers to their first Sweet 16. However, even in that moment which will undoubtedly be immortalized into Nebraska’s lore, it wasn’t a play or a decision that caught the Husker fan base off guard.

The throng of fans clad in red in Oklahoma City over the past weekend is used to the defense, composure and execution that was on display against one of the SEC’s best teams, and Vandy’s coach recognized it.

“They’re hard to score against,” Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington said afterward. “That’s a unique, really good defense.”

That identity will now be tested again by a team that knows Nebraska as well as anyone. Frankly, Iowa has already seen it – twice. The Hawkeyes are well past the “getting used to it” stage that both Troy and Vanderbilt found themselves in.

Nebraska and Iowa split their season series, with both teams winning their respective home games. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The season series between Nebraska and Iowa has been a split, with each team defending its home floor, but the box scores from those two meetings reveal something more important.

They reveal a contrast.

In the first meeting, Iowa’s offense found rhythm, spaced the floor and generated consistent scoring opportunities. Nebraska never fully disrupted that flow, and the Hawkeyes capitalized.

However, In the second meeting Nebraska flipped the script as they tightened defensively, contested more effectively on the perimeter and forced Iowa into more difficult possessions. The result was a game played more on Nebraska’s terms. It was controlled and dictated by defensive discipline.

Nebraska got the better of Iowa the last time the two teams met. Thursday's showdown will undoubtedly be more pressure-packed. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

That push-and-pull is what makes this third meeting so compelling because both teams have seen what works, and both teams know what’s coming.

Nebraska’s formula hasn’t changed.

“When we get stops, that’s when we go on runs offensively,” Sam Hoiberg said after Nebraska’s win over Troy. “As soon as we started getting stops on defense, we start getting the offense rolling.”

That connection has been the backbone of Nebraska’s success all season and also allowed the Huskers to survive Vanderbilt’s second-half surge, when the Commodores briefly took control and threatened to end Nebraska’s season.

Nebraska's defensive pressure has led to their offensive success through two games in the NCAA Tournament. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg sensed the frustration of his team and called a timeout. During the timeout, he told all of his guys to look up at the scoreboard above them. They still had the lead. In a moment where everything felt like it was starting to spiral, NU was grounded by its head coach, and it allowed them to put the rest of the game into a new perspective.

“We changed up our defense, threw a little zone out there,” Hoiberg said of a defensive shift he called for late in the game. “I think that threw off their rhythm a little bit.”

The adjustment slowed Vanderbilt down just enough to allow Nebraska to regain control. It was a subtle shift that may not show up in a box score, but was enough to ultimately decide the victor Saturday night. It’s also the kind of adjustment Nebraska may need again against Iowa.

Iowa's spacing and ball movement gave Nebraska fits during the teams' first meeting in Iowa City. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa presents a different kind of challenge for NU. While Vanderbilt relied heavily on pressure and physicality, Iowa thrives on spacing, ball movement and offensive efficiency. The Hawkeyes’ ability to stretch the floor and create clean looks makes them dangerous in a different way — one that will again test communication and discipline more than physical toughness.

And now, coming off a stunning upset of No. 1 Florida, Iowa arrives with confidence they likely haven’t had all season. If they can take down the defending NCAA champion, a No. 4-seed Nebraska should serve as the proverbial lay-up to get the Hawkeyes to the Elite Eight.

Historically, this game will understandably represent something significant for both programs. For Nebraska, it’s an opportunity to continue going where no team in school history has gone — the Elite Eight. For Iowa, it’s a chance to validate its own run and continue one of the most unexpected paths in this year’s tournament.

This game will serve up a rare moment where a familiar rivalry takes on national importance. The regular-season meetings were about positioning, but this one will be about legacy.

Both Iowa and Nebraska will be battling something most teams in the Sweet 16 don't experience - opponent familiarity. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The element of familiarity changes everything in this one, though. Most Sweet 16 match-ups will have unknown elements, but there are no unkept secrets between these two Big Ten foes. The rubber match of this season series will likely be less about preparation and more about execution.

Will there be a few more wrinkles from each coach? Sure, but which team will make the right adjustments, and who can stay composed longer? Who can impose their identity, and for Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort – how much emotion will be packed into this one after thinking he got the last laugh against his former school back on March 8?

After transferring from Iowa to Nebraska, NU's leading scorer Pryce Sandfort likely didn't expect a third meeting. — After transferring from Iowa to Nebraska, NU's leading scorer Pryce Sandfort likely didn't expect a third meeting with his former team. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

If Nebraska is going to advance, it will likely need to do what it has done all tournament to this point. They’ll need to limit clean looks, communicate through screens, rebound and finish possessions. The latter has been an area Hoiberg has already identified time and time again this season.

“They crushed us on the glass in the second half,” Hoiberg said of Vanderbilt Saturday night. “We have to do a better job, whoever we’re going to play in the next round. We’ve got to do a better job on the glass if we want to continue to play.”

Against Iowa, that becomes even more important. In NU’s loss to the Hawkeyes, Iowa outrebounded the Huskers 37-24, including a 12-2 edge in offensive rebounds. It was one of Nebraska’s worst performances.

Iowa has proven to be the better team on the boards in both showdowns with Nebraska, and it's a point of emphasis for NU. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The second time around, Iowa actually won the battle of the boards again, 32-29, but the offensive rebounds were much more level. Iowa edged NU 7-5 in that category, but Nebraska won the game by nine. It was proof that Nebraska didn’t need to win the rebound battle to win the war, but they needed to be a lot more competitive.

Ultimately, second chances and open threes are exactly how the Hawkeyes build momentum, and momentum in March is everything, just ask Nebraska. The Huskers have now won six-straight postseason games dating back to last year’s run to a Crown Championship, building a level of sustained success the program has never experienced before.

They’ve also won 12 of their last 13 neutral-site games — proof that their style translates, regardless of location. With the game being set in Houston, it’s much more likely to feel like a Husker home game again, and that worked out pretty well for NU last time around.

This game won’t just be about who shoots better. It will be about who handles the moment, responds to runs better and who makes the right play when everything speeds up. Both Iowa and Nebraska proved they have those chops, just ask SEC powers Florida and Vanderbilt.

Nebraska's been playing in unfamiliar territory for the past week, but their 3rd game in the tournament will be anything but. — Nebraska's been playing in unfamiliar territory for the past week, but their third game in the tournament will be anything but. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In many ways, this is the perfect next step. It’s a familiar opponent on an unfamiliar stage for both programs in this era of college basketball. It’s a chance to prove that what Nebraska has built this season isn’t just good enough to win games — it’s good enough to sustain a postseason run.

The highlights heading into this match-up will likely show the game-winning play against Vanderbilt, but most stations might also be dipping into their Iowa archives. After all, the two teams know each other better than maybe any other two teams in the country right now.

If Nebraska is going to take the next step and reach the Elite Eight, it will look much more like the second highlight reel in the 2026 archives, not the first. NU’s defense will need to be connected and the players will need to trust in Fred Hoiberg’s system more than they have all season long.

Nebraska's dream season is on to the Sweet 16, but to get to the Elite Eight, they'll have to knock off rival Iowa. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Huskers have already made history, but when they play Iowa for a third time this season, they’ll have a chance to make a statement not only to the Big Ten Conference rival but to the entire country.

Nebraska has a chance to redefine what this program can be. The stage will be bigger, and the stakes will be higher than they’ve ever been.

On Thursday, everything this team has built is about to be tested one more time.