Alvaro Folgueiras converted a critical three-point play when Nebraska only had four defenders on the floor, and ninth-seeded Iowa continued their unpredictable NCAA Tournament run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, beating Nebraska 77-71 in the Sweet Sixteen on Thursday night.
Bennett Stirtz scored 20 points and Folgueiras had 16 for the Hawkeyes (24-12), who knocked off top-seeded Florida in the second round on Folgueiras’ three-pointer in the closing seconds.
Iowa will face either Illinois or Houston on Saturday for a spot in the Final Four. McCollum, who won four Division II national titles at Northwest Missouri State, has now led Iowa to their fifth Elite Eight and first since 1987.
Fourth-seeded Nebraska (28-7) took an early 10-point lead against their Big Ten rival, and Iowa tied it four times but never led until Stirtz buried a three-pointer to make it 68-65 with 2:10 to go. Sage Tate hit another 3 to cap a 9-0 run and put Iowa ahead 71-65.
The Cornhuskers got within three on a second-chance three-pointer by Braden Frager, but they were disorganized on the inbound play, leaving Folgueiras unguarded near the rim. He slammed it home – popping up screaming after he finished through contact as Iowa fans roared – and converted the free throw for a six-point lead. Another dunk by Folgueiras, who moved to the US as a 16-year-old to pursue his basketball dream, with 34 seconds left made it 76-68, and they never looked back.
Iowa’s second-half rally was fueled by Nebraska’s cold shooting: The Huskers were 9 of 32 (28.1%) in the second half, with most of those attempts coming beyond the arc, where they made just 6 of 24.
Elsewhere on Thursday, Trey Kaufman-Renn tipped in a miss by Braden Smith with 0.7 seconds left, and No 2 Purdue edged hobbling Texas star Tramon Mark and the 11th-seeded Longhorns 79-77 in the Sweet 16. Texas (21-15) tied it moments earlier when Dailyn Swain made a driving layup, was fouled and converted the three-point play with 11.9 seconds to go. Smith had scored on his own drive with 38 seconds remaining and finished with 16 points. Kaufman-Renn hit his first seven shots on the way to 20 points. He was mobbed by teammates right after the final buzzer sounded at SAP Center.
