One Iowa player poured salt in Florida’s open wound Sunday after the thrilling finish to their second-round clash in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
9-seed Iowa upset 1-seed Florida in one of the wildest endings in this year’s March Madness. The Hawkeyes trailed 72-70 and were inbounding from their own baseline with 8.9 seconds left inside Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Fla.
The Gators applied fullcourt pressure on the Hawkeyes, who were able to break down the press to find Alvaro Folgueiras in the corner for a wide-open three-pointer. The Spanish junior drained the triple to give Iowa a 73-72 win.
Iowa freshman Cooper Koch later celebrated by mocking Florida’s signature “Gator Chomp” celebration as the players exchanged handshakes.
Iowa hit Florida with the gator chomp in the handshake line
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 23, 2026
pic.twitter.com/sXgG3f9QR1
While the move did not sit well with Florida fans online, the Gators players themselves seemed to shrug the moment off. Koch scored 12 points in the contest and made 4 of Iowa’s 7 three-pointers. The most important triple came off the fingertips of Folgueiras, who also had arguably the best postgame line of the NCAA Tournament thus far.
Iowa basketball was oozing with confidence bordering on cocky after both Iowa and Iowa State picked up big victories to advance to the Sweet 16. One Iowa State senior dropped a disrespectful take on Kentucky after his Cyclones blew out the Wildcats.
