Down three points to rival Iowa with less than a minute left, fourth-seeded Nebraska committed a jaw-dropping blunder that cost the Huskers a chance to advance to the Elite Eight.
Following a timeout with 58.8 seconds left, Nebraska somehow sent out only four players on defense. Inbounding under his own basket, Iowa’s Kael Combs launched a pass to the opposite key, where a wide-open Alvaro Folgueiras went up for an easy layup and drew the foul. Folgueiras made his free throw to put the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes up 74-68 en route to a 77-71 victory that sent No. 9 seed Iowa to its first Elite Eight since 1987.
“It was a miscommunication, and I’m the head coach, so put that one on me,” Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg said afterward.
The snafu was so shocking that the TBS announcers did not notice what happened until they saw the second replay.
“Wait a minute! I think Nebraska only had four defenders on the floor. … That is a major breakdown,” said analyst Stan Van Gundy.
Nebraska earned the first two NCAA Tournament victories in school history to reach Thursday’s game in Houston. Adding to the Huskers’ heartbreak, they led for more than three-quarters of the game. Iowa did not take its first lead until the final 2:10. The teams exchanged six 3-pointers over a five-minute stretch leading up to the Folgueiras play.
“It stings,” said Hoiberg. “This one hurts about as much as any I’ve ever been part of.”
Once the dust settles, though, Nebraska will celebrate a historic season in which the Huskers set a school record for wins (28), went 15-5 in the Big Ten and finally ended the program’s NCAA Tournament wins drought by beating Troy and Vanderbilt.
Meanwhile, Iowa (24-12), which knocked out No. 1 seed Florida in the second round, will play Saturday for a chance at its first Final Four since 1980 in coach Ben McCollum’s first season.
