Todd Golden could only watch as 8.9 seconds stood between his team and survival. The Florida Gators led by two points as Bennett Stirtz brought the ball up the court. Florida pressed them hard, but Stirtz found a bounce pass to a wide-open Alvaro Folgueiras. He hit the dagger, giving Iowa a 73-72 lead and eventually the win. What if we told you Folgueiras would not have been on the court if things had played out a little differently?

In the first half, with just more than 8 and a half minutes left on the clock, Folgueiras got tangled up with Alex Condon in a held-ball situation. Like a typical stalemate, Condon brought him down to the floor, but the Hawkeye closed his fist and swung toward the ball. Officials and teammates rushed to pacify the situation, and the two were separated.

“Folgueiras is probably out of this game,” the broadcaster said on air. “I don’t know if you made contact or not, but it was close.” However, the referee gave Folgueiras a technical, not a flagrant foul. The referees even assessed one to Condon for his role in the fight. 

Golden was furious after talking to the refs. “Are you f****** kidding me?” he was heard on the sidelines. “You m**********, man.” Following the altercation, Golden was also seen shouting toward the Iowa bench and first-year Hawkeyes coach Ben McCollum. After the game, Golden explained what made him so furious. “Yeah, I was told that they threw a punch, but it didn’t connect, so it didn’t go any higher than a flagrant one,” Golden told the media.

“I’m not exactly sure what that means,” Golden continued. “I still don’t understand why Condon got a technical. They’re both fighting for the ball equally. Condon was just stronger and pulled him down to the floor, but they were both grabbing the ball, and it was a confusing play. I’m not really sure how that landed on that result.”

According to the rules, it is up to the referee’s discretion whether to eject Folgueiras or not. According to the rulebook, the flagrant 1 definition is “Illegal contact caused by swinging of an elbow that is deemed excessive or unnecessary but does not rise to the level of a flagrant 2  personal foul.” So at the maximum, it’s a flagrant one, and like Seth Davis said in the halftime show, “They don’t wanna eject somebody from an NCAA Tournament game. So I think they probably adjudicated it well.”

As to Condon’s technical foul, he took down Folgueiras, which could be read as “unnecessary contact.” So, the referee managed to make the call within the rules. Now, it could be judged as too soft. But it was within the regulations and in line with NCAA Tournament practices. 

“I just thought it was a jump ball, and I just wanted to set the standard for the game with, I’m going to make sure I get every loose ball and set the standard with our physicality. Ended up with a double technical and they got the ball back,” Condon said. “I didn’t really know if he hit me or not, but I’m sure we’ll see it and look back at it.” On the other hand, the Iowa star denied any wrongdoing during the play. 

“People kind of overreacted,” Folgueiras said. “I didn’t throw any punch. It was just a thing of the game.” Ultimately, Folgueiras starred for Iowa, finishing with 14 points and five rebounds along with the game-winner. But even though it wasn’t one player who defeated this Gators side, it was McCollum who got one over on Golden. 

Todd Golden Outcoached By Ben McCollum As Florida’s Strength Disappears

Todd Golden’s Florida was the best rebounding team in the country coming into this game. They averaged 45.7 rebounds a game and dominated the paint with their size and physicality. For just the second time this season, the team was matched on the boards, 27-27. Ben McCollum and Iowa made this game scrappy and physical, and Florida took time to adjust. 

In addition, Iowa contained Florida’s big man, Rueben Chinyelu, to 0 points and had only one rebound by the end of the game. He averaged a whopping 11.2 rebounds and 10.9 points coming into this game. McCollum also forced Florida into uncomfortable territory. Usually, they are a paint-scoring team, attempting only 37% of their shots from beyond the arc (per Barttorvik).

But Iowa clogged the paint, like in that last play. This meant Florida had to go outside, attempting 19 three-pointers out of their 46 shots, which comes to 41.3% of their attempts. They went 32% from the three-point line, which was just about their season-wide average. 

“There are a lot of really good coaches out there, and he absolutely put on a clinic,” Seth Davis said about McCollum. “Not just stylistically and strategically, but the tougher team. They were the tougher team. They defended at a high level.” Even Golden himself admitted Iowa surprised them in the first half. 

“I thought they played well, especially in the first half,” he said. “Had us on our heels a little bit, and I thought they were physically tougher than us in the first half. And it took a little bit for us to regain our footing, and then they got off to a good start in the second half.”

The Gators had opened with a 59-point win, and this result seemed impossible. But it’s March, after all, and there is a reason it’s called March Madness. The Gators are now just the fourth team in NCAA Tournament history to win a game by at least 40 points in their opening game and then lose in the second round. They now return to the drawing board, getting ready to dip into the transfer portal.