Myron Medcalf
Multiple Authors
HOUSTON — Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg mentioned a late-game blunder that left his group with solely four players on the courtroom earlier than a crucial three-point play within the ultimate minute of Iowa‘s 77-71 win over the Cornhuskers within the Sweet 16 on Thursday night time was his fault.
With 58.8 seconds to play, Iowa’s Kael Combs stood on the baseline to inbound the ball as his teammates pointed towards Alvaro Folgueiras — who hit the game-winning shot in his group’s upset over 1-seed Florida on Sunday — who was racing down the courtroom, large open, earlier than he scored on a crucial layup and accomplished a three-point play to increase his group’s result in six factors. It appeared that Nebraska’s Rienk Mast was making an attempt to verify into the sport earlier than the shot, however he was too late.
After the sport, Mast was requested to elucidate that play, however Hoiberg intervened.
“Put that one on me,” he mentioned. “It was a miscommunication and I’m the head coach, so put that one on me.”
Hoiberg additionally mentioned he wasn’t certain whether or not the officers ought to have checked to ensure his group had 5 players on the courtroom earlier than they restarted the sport.
“I’ve never been in a situation like that. I know they always count to make sure there’s not six,” Hoiberg mentioned. “I don’t know the rule on that with four. But yeah, again, it was a miscommunication, and unfortunately, it happened. But as far as the rule, I’ve never been a part of anything like that.”
Iowa took its first lead of the sport on Bennett Stirtz‘s 3-pointer with 2:10 to go. Tate Sage prolonged that edge to 6 factors on one other shot from past the arc lower than a minute later. But Pryce Sandfort — who performed at Iowa final season — responded with a 3-pointer of his personal to arrange the wild play within the ultimate minute.
Stirtz and Sage, who had been each pointing to the opposite finish of the floor once they noticed Folgueiras working unguarded as Combs launched a deep go to him, mentioned they had been stunned to see their teammate open.
“I was pretty shocked to see [Folgueiras] wide open,” Stirtz mentioned. “I didn’t even know they had four players until we were in the locker room.”
Added Sage: “We were going to throw it to [Stirtz], but then we looked down and [Folgueiras] had nobody on him, so we’re, like, ‘Kael, throw it,’ and he ended up getting the bucket.”
Iowa coach Ben McCollum mentioned he wonders whether or not his group would possibly someday be the topic of a characteristic movie. He and Stirtz have now superior within the NCAA event for the third consecutive yr with their third program following postseason success at Division II Northwest Missouri State in 2024 and Drake final yr.
Folgueiras, the hero in opposition to Florida within the second spherical with a game-winning 3-pointer and in opposition to Nebraska together with his late three-point play, would definitely have a task in that manufacturing. His heroics for the second consecutive sport despatched Iowa to a spot it has not been in almost 40 years.
“I think he’s just not shy in the moment and he’s not scared,” Stirtz mentioned. “I think some people shy away from it and go in their little shell when moments get too big, and he embraces it and he wants to play well in these big environments.”
It was the end result of a hard-fought win for an Iowa group that made historical past. The Hawkeyes, a 9-seed, are the lowest-seeded Big Ten group to make the Elite Eight, changing Wisconsin, which reached the Final Four as an 8-seed in 2000, per ESPN Research. The Hawkeyes have additionally made a run to the Elite Eight for the primary time since 1987. And Stirtz, who scored 20 factors, performed all 40 minutes, giving him three 40-minute video games within the NCAA event. He is now tied for probably the most 40-minute video games by a Big Ten participant within the NCAA event over the previous 45 seasons, per ESPN Research.
It has been a fortuitous run for Iowa, which had weathered a 3-7 stretch earlier than the NCAA event. The Hawkeyes have now knocked off Clemson, Florida and Nebraska, which superior to the Sweet 16 for the primary time at school historical past.
There has been a whole lot of discuss in regards to the lack of mid-majors which have survived in March this season. Only one double-digit seed, Texas, made the Sweet 16. But the Longhorns misplaced to Purdue on Thursday night time in a thriller, leaving Iowa because the lowest remaining seed within the discipline.
Does that make the Hawkeyes this yr’s Cinderella? McCollum mentioned he is high-quality with the label.
“We were so close in a lot of games and I don’t like to use that. We were right there. And then we lost some games we probably shouldn’t have,” McCollum mentioned about this season. “Yeah, Cinderella, whatever they want to call us. We’re in the Elite Eight. That’s what they need to call us.”
