Iowa knocks off defending national champion Florida as the first No. 1 seed goes down in March Madness. Here’s what to know

We’ve had buzzer-beaters, upsets, top seeds narrowly surviving and national title contenders looking like, well, national title contenders.

It’s been a mad, mad weekend and the Sweet 16 in the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament is starting to take shape.

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The men’s tournament will wrap up its first two rounds on Sunday. The women, meanwhile, are just getting started with the Round of 32, finishing up their first weekend action on Monday.

Iowa takes down No. 1 Florida to end Gators’ bid for another title

There will be a new national champion in 2026.

No. 9 Iowa knocked off Florida, making the Gators the first No. 1 seed to go down in this year’s NCAA tournament. The Gators won the national championship last year and were aiming to repeat.

The Hawkeyes led for the majority of the game, building their advantage to as much as 12 points early in the second half. But the Gators showed the heart of a champion and began clawing their way back into the game, with a transition slam from Alex Condon giving Florida its first lead since the early going.

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Watching their lead evaporate could have demoralized the Hawkeyes team, but Iowa rallied and the two teams traded buckets and the lead back and forth in the closing minutes.

Florida held a two-point lead with just 8.9 seconds remaining, but Iowa rushed the ball down the court and into the hands of Alvaro Folgueiras, who knocked down the biggest shot of his life to give Iowa a 73-72 advantage.

With just four seconds left, Florida wasn’t able to get a shot off, and the Gators are the first No. 1 seed to fall in the tournament. Iowa advances to Nebraska in the Sweet 16.

St. John’s buzzer beater sends them to Sweet 16

College basketball fans were delivered on a silver platter a tasty matchup between No. 4 seed Kansas and No. 5 seed St. John’s on Sunday.

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And it left those fans wanting more.

Rick Pitino and the Red Storm defeated Bill Self and the Jayhawks 67-65 on a layup at the buzzer in a battle between two Hall of Fame coaches with multiple national titles.

The Johnnies straight up dominated 75% of the game, holding a lead as much as 14, but Kansas showed no quit, tying the game up with 13 seconds to go on free throws.

The Jayhawks, who had many fouls to give, wound up fouling St. John’s to get the clock down to around four seconds remaining.

St. John’s guard Dylan Darling got the inbounds pass at half court and quickly drove to the rim where he secured the Johnnies’ first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999.

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Darling told the CBS broadcast, he had no idea how he did it.

“I don’t know. Four seconds left, didn’t have time for much,” Darling said.

St. John’s will face No. 1 Duke on Friday in Washington, D.C.

Virginia crashes out after Tennessee holds off furious comeback attempt

No. 6 Tennessee took advantage of critical mistakes by No. 3 Virginia after the Cavaliers charged back into the game, moving on to their fourth straight Sweet 16 and exacerbating a terrible tournament for the ACC.

The Cavaliers had barely escaped the first round after Wright State pushed them to the limit, and it looked like the Volunteers were about to put them away for real on Sunday night. But then, after trailing by nine with 10 minutes to go in the game, the Hoos made their charge.

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Slowly but surely, they cut into the Tennessee lead before Thijs De Ridder hit a 3-pointer to give Virginia their first lead since midway through the first half. From there, it was just a battle of guts to see who would come out on top.

Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they were the ones who blinked. Missed layups, an airball from Jacari White, the Hoos’ star guard and a turnover after a moment in which an improbable comeback seemed possible in the final seconds eventually sealed their fate.

That game marked a milestone of almost every tournament: Every bracket filed through official NCAA channels – NCAA.com, ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, USA Today, Sports Illustrated and Kalshi – now has at least one blemish.

Purdue hangs on to advance to Sweet 16

When halftime came, it appeared the first game of the day was going to be an upset.

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No. 2 seed Purdue trailed by two to seventh-seeded Miami.

But the Boilermakers quickly took the lead in the second half and despite the Hurricanes’ best attempt to stay in the game, Purdue would go on to win 79-69.

Purdue now advances to its third consecutive Sweet 16 appearance where the Boilermakers will look to stop No. 11 seed Texas’ Cinderella run on Thursday.

The question for Purdue will be the status of guard CJ Cox going forward. The 21-year-old, who finished with 11 points, went down hard in the second half and appeared to grab his knee in pain.

Cox was escorted to the tunnel by trainers but later returned to the bench, not entering the game again. Head coach Matt Painter told reporters after the win the guard hyperextended his knee and his availability will be determined by “how treatment goes.”

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It was the 500th win of Painter’s coaching career at his alma mater.

Iowa State rolls without star

The Midwest No. 2 seed Iowa State Cyclones looked like Final Four contenders despite missing second-team All-American Joshua Jefferson in their 82-63 romp over Kentucky on Sunday.

The senior forward landed awkwardly after a layup and rolled his ankle during their opening game on Friday against Tennessee State. Jefferson left the court with assistance from athletic trainers and later returned with a boot on his injured left leg.

Iowa State got off to a slow start, finding themselves down 12 points at just about the halfway mark of the first half. But the Cyclones regrouped to take a one-point lead into halftime.

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Iowa State found lightning in the second half, outscoring the expensive Wildcats roster 51-33 to coast to the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2022. They will await the winner of Tennessee and Virginia.

Men’s Sweet 16 schedule

With all the men’s games done for the weekend, here is the schedule for the next round on Thursday and Friday:

Thursday

• No. 2 Purdue vs. No. 11 Texas at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS

• No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 9 Iowa at 7:30 p.m. ET on TBS/truTV

• No. 1 Arizona vs. No. 4 Arkansas at 9:45 p.m. ET on CBS

• No. 2 Houston vs. No. 3 Illinois at 10:05 p.m. ET on TBS/truTV

Friday

• No. 1 Duke vs. No. 5 St. John’s at 7:10 p.m. ET on CBS

• No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama/No. 5 Texas Tech at 7:35 p.m. ET on TBS/truTV

• No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Michigan State at 9:45 p.m. ET on CBS

• No. 2 Iowa State vs. No. 6 Tennessee at 10:10 p.m. ET on TBS/truTV

Minnesota avoids first upset of day in women’s bracket

Friday was the chalkiest day possible in the women’s bracket as not a single upset took place in the Round of 64. With those same teams taking to the court on Sunday, the question remains: Can any of the underdogs pull off a win?

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In the third matchup of the day, No. 5 seed Ole Miss remained in control against No. 4 seed Minnesota most of the game.

With under two minutes remaining, Gophers guard Mara Braun connected on a three-pointer to tie the game at 61. It remained a tie game as the final seconds ticked away until Amaya Battle made a 13-foot jumper with less than a second remaining to secure the 65-63 win for Minnesota.

The Gophers advanced to their first Sweet 16 appearance in more than 20 years and will await the winner of No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 8 Oklahoma State.

Men’s results

• Iowa State 82, Kentucky 63

• St. John’s 67, Kansas 65

• Tennessee 79, Virginia 72

• Arizona 78, Utah State 66

• No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 Texas Tech at 9:45 p.m. ET on TBS

Women’s schedule

• Michigan 92, North Carolina State 63

• Minnesota 65, Ole Miss 63

• Oklahoma 77, Michigan State 71

• No. 3 TCU vs. No. 6 Washington at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN

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