Ninth-seeded Iowa continues improbable March run, beating Nebraska 77-71 to reach Elite Eight

HOUSTON (AP) — Alvaro Folgueiras converted a critical three-point play when Nebraska only had four defenders on the floor, and ninth-seeded Iowa continued its unpredictable NCAA Tournament run under first-year coach Ben McCollum, beating Nebraska 77-71 in a South Region semifinal 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' 3-pointer in the closing seconds.

Iowa will face another Big Ten rival, Illinois, 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 its fifth Elite Eight and first since 1987.

Iowa became the lowest-seeded team from the Big Ten to reach a regional final since seeding began in 1979.

“Cinderella, whatever they want to call us, just we’re in the Elite Eight,” McCollum said. “That’s what they need to call us.”

Fourth-seeded Nebraska (28-7) took an early 10-point lead against its conference foe, and Iowa tied it four times but never led until Stirtz buried a 3-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 3 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 with 34 seconds left made it 76-68.

For Stirtz and McCollum, this March Madness run continues a journey that began at Northwest Missouri State and continued last season at Drake before the pair both moved on to Iowa.

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” McCollum said. “But it’s far from over.”

Stirtz credited McCollum for turning him into a “great person off the court and a great player on the court,” but he had trouble sharing too much more about his coach.

“I don’t want to talk about it that much. I get emotional,” he said. “That’s just another topic for after the season that we can look at. Right now, just focus on the next game.”

Iowa transfer Pryce Sandfort made six 3s and scored 25 points for Nebraska, which won the first two March Madness games in program history to get this far. Frager added 16 points for coach Fred Hoiberg's Cornhuskers, who delighted a traveling contingent of red-clad fans throughout their tournament run.

“These guys will be a part of history of Nebraska basketball forever, for winning the first NCAA tournament game, getting to the Sweet 16, most wins in the history of the program, highest ranking,” Hoiberg said. “They just did so many things to elevate our program. I’m really proud of them.”

Iowa’s second-half rally was fueled by Nebraska’s cold shooting: The Huskers were 9 of 32 (28.1%) after halftime, with most of those attempts coming beyond the arc, where they made just 6 of 24.

“We missed some good looks,” Hoiberg said. “I’ll go back and watch it at some point and see what we could have done better, but (it) seemed like they made all the open shots at the end, we didn’t. Again, that happens in this game. Unfortunately, that was the result tonight.”

The teams split their previous meetings this season, but it will be the Hawkeyes who move on and try to represent the Big Ten in the Final Four. One way or another, the league is guaranteed to win the South this year.

Hoiberg raved about the job McCollum has done in his first season at Iowa and throughout his career.

“I’ve got so much respect for Ben with how he has run his programs,” Hoiberg said. “And obviously, it doesn’t matter the level, he’s going to continue to be successful wherever he is, and he’s proven that. He’s proven that at the D-II level, he proved it at a mid-major, and now he’s proving it in the Big Ten at a high-major level.”

McCollum had a similar sentiment for Hoiberg and his team.

“They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything,” McCollum said. “I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially coach Hoiberg.”

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Iowa head coach Ben McCollum directs his players during the first half against Nebraska in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras (7) dunks over Nebraska forward Berke Buyuktuncel (9) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Nebraska forward Pryce Sandfort (21), front, reacts after falling during the second half against Nebraska in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Iowa forwards Alvaro Folgueiras, rear, Cam Manyawu (3) and forward Trey Thompson (20) celebrate after defeating Nebraska in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Iowa forward Alvaro Folgueiras (7)celebrates after defeating Nebraska in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in France to meet his Group of Seven counterparts Friday after President Donald Trump attacked NATO countries over a reluctance or refusal to take part in the Iran war, a conflict that some of America’s closest allies have met with deep skepticism.

Rubio will have a hard time trying to sell the other top diplomats from G7 countries on the U.S. strategy for the Iran conflict, to which almost all nations have raised objections. Trump’s vitriolic comments about NATO during a Cabinet meeting Thursday will make it an even tougher task. Of the G7 nations — besides the U.S. — Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy are members of the transatlantic military alliance. Japan is the only one that is not.

Rubio left Washington for the G7 meeting outside Paris just hours after Trump complained bitterly about NATO countries not stepping up to help the U.S. and Israel in the Iran war.

“We are very disappointed with NATO because NATO has done absolutely nothing,” Trump said.

Rubio has work to do to smooth things over with allies like those in Europe that have faced criticism or outright threats from Trump and others in his administration. The Europeans are still smarting over Trump's earlier demands to take over Greenland from NATO ally Denmark and are concerned about U.S. support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The conflict in the Middle East has added another point of tension.

“Frankly, I think countries around the world, even those that are out there complaining about this a little bit, should actually be grateful that the United States has a president that’s willing to confront a threat like this,” Rubio said at the Cabinet meeting.

Asked by reporters about the reception he was expecting to get, Rubio said before his flight to France that he was looking forward to gathering with his G7 counterparts and that “we’re going to have great meetings.”

He later posted on X that he would be meeting in France with "world leaders about the security concerns we share around the world and opportunities to address the situation in the Middle East and the Russia-Ukraine war.”

Trump has complained that he has not been able to rally support behind his war of choice in Iran and that NATO and most other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's chokehold has disrupted oil shipments and pushed up energy prices.

“We’re there to protect NATO, to protect them from Russia. But they’re not there to protect us,” Trump said Thursday. He later added: “I never thought we needed them. I was more doing a test.”

Before the U.S. leader's comments, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte reiterated the increase in defense spending by alliance members — which Trump has urged — saying Europe and Canada had been “overreliant on U.S. military might” but a “shift in mindset” has taken hold.

Rutte said NATO has been clear that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon and has “long recognized the threat Iran’s missile program posed to allies and their interests. And what the United States is currently doing is degrading those capabilities, both the nuclear and the missile.”

France is hosting the G7 meeting at a historic abbey near Versailles and has been highly skeptical of the war. The chief of the French defense staff, Gen. Fabien Mandon, complained this week that U.S. allies had not been informed about the start of hostilities.

“They have just decided to intervene in the Near and Middle East without notifying us,” Mandon said. “We acted immediately, surprised by an American ally, who remains an ally, but who is less and less predictable and doesn’t even bother to inform us when it decides to engage in military operations. This affects our security. This affects our interests.”

However, 35 countries joined military talks hosted by Mandon on how to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “once the intensity of hostilities has sufficiently decreased,” France’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

Rubio said that with Iran threatening global shipping, countries that care about international law “should step up and deal with it.”

Similar sentiments to Mandon's have been expressed by other allies that also worry about the U.S. commitment to Ukraine as the Iran war closes in on four weeks.

“We must avoid further destabilization, secure our economic freedom and develop perspectives for an end of and the time after the hostilities,” German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday. “Our joint support for Ukraine ... must not crumble now. That would be a strategic mistake with a view to Euro-Atlantic security.”

Wadephul said he expected “that we can define a joint position” on the Middle East.

“Of course, this is about ending this conflict as quickly as possible, but also ending it sustainably, and that means bringing about security in the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring overall that the Iranian regime, which in the past has behaved negatively enough, is also curtailed in the future,” Wadephul said.

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels, John Leicester in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before boarding a plane at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Thursday, March 26, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)

Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to reporters before boarding a plane at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Thursday, March 26, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at Paris-Le Bourget Airport, in Le Bourget, France, early Friday, March 27, 2026, to take part in the G7 foreign ministers' meeting. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. From left are Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives at Paris-Le Bourget Airport, in Le Bourget, France, early Friday, March 27, 2026, to take part in the G7 foreign ministers' meeting. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)