Iowa rallies to end Nebraska’s first NCAA tournament run, reach first Elite Eight since 1987

For the first time in nearly four decades, Iowa is just a win away from the Final Four.

The Hawkeyes rallied out of a double-digit hole to knock off Nebraska in a Big Ten Sweet 16 battle on Thursday night in Houston. Iowa used a late 14-3 run down the stretch, and took advantage of a brutal defensive blunder by the Cornhuskers, to pull out a 77-71 win. Iowa led for just more than two full minutes throughout the entire contest.

Advertisement

As a result, the Hawkeyes will now head to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. They’ll take on either No. 2 Houston or No. 3 Illinois in the next round at the Toyota Center on Saturday night.

Iowa rallies out of early hole to knock off Nebraska

Nebraska was in full control for nearly all of the game on Thursday night.

The Huskers took the lead from the jump, opening on a 14-4 run that shut Iowa down almost completely in the opening minutes. Nebraska looked simply much more prepared for the game than Iowa did on both sides of the ball.

But finally, it was Alvaro Folgueiras who sparked Iowa’s late run. Folgueiras, who hit the game-winner to lift Iowa past Florida in the second round, threw down a dunk through Nebraska big man Rienk Mast to get the game back within single digits just inside the five-minute mark.

Bennett Stirtz, who went 0-of-9 from behind the arc against the Gators, then drilled his first 3-pointer two possessions later. While Nebraska’s field goal drought finally ended, Iowa cut the game back to just a single possession at the break after Tate Sage drilled a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Advertisement

Sage had 11 points at halftime, after making a trio of 3-pointers, and the Hawkeyes shot 60% from the field. Nebraska, with 11 from Pryce Sandfort, shot 58% from the field in the first 20 minutes. It marked the best combined shooting in a half so far throughout the entire NCAA tournament.

That momentum Iowa picked up just before halftime carried over, too. The Hawkeyes quickly tied the game up by the first media timeout of…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball/breaking-news/article/iowa-rallies-to-end-nebraskas-first-ncaa-tournament-run-reach-first-elite-eight-since-1987-012813585.html

Author : Ryan Young

Publish date : 2026-03-27 01:28:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.