HOUSTON — The Iowa men's basketball team beat Nebraska 77-71 in the Sweet 16 to advance to the Elite 8 on Thursday.
The No. 9 seed Hawkeyes (24-12, 10-10 Big Ten) outscored the No. 4 seed Huskers (28-6, 13-7 Big Ten) 34-25 in the second half to earn the six-point win. Iowa shot 13-of-30 from three-point range in the win and held Nebraska to 6-of-24 from deep in the second half after a 7-of-14 start.
Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 20 points, Tate Sage added 19, Alvaro Foglueiras managed 16 and Cooper Koch scored 11.
Pryce Sandfort led all players with 25 points. Braden Frager added 16 while Berke Buyuktuncel brought down 10 rebounds.
Iowa takes early timeout as Nebraska jumps ahead in first three minutes
H1 16:54 | Iowa 2, Nebraska 12
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It did not take long for head coach Ben McCollum to see enough. After a 12-2 Nebraska run over the first three minutes of the game, McCollum took a timeout to slow the Huskers' early salvo.
Nebraska connected on a three of its first six three-point attempts and grabbed three offensive rebounds to jump out to the 10-point advantage.
Nebraska remains in front after Iowa rally cut lead to two
H1 11:34 | Iowa 17, Nebraska 25
Iowa briefly cut the Nebraska lead to two, 16-14, on an Folgueiras three and 19-17 on a Sage triple. However, three straight threes from Husker freshman Frager allowed Nebraska to push its lead back up to eight by the second media timeout.
Frager scored six points in each of the prior two meetings between the two teams.
Iowa, Nebraska going blow-for-blow
H1 3:32 | Iowa 35, Nebraska 40
Since Iowa's 8-0 run from 14:59 to 13:37 of the first half, neither team managed to score more than two unanswered baskets in a row.
An 18-10 stretch out of the Hawkeye run allowed Nebraska to regain a 10-0 lead but a Folgueiras dunk and a Stirtz triple on back-to-back possessions allowed the Hawkeyes to cut the lead back down to five, 40-35, at the under-four media timeout.
Tate Sage sends Iowa to the half with buzzer-beating three
HALF | Iowa 43, Nebraska 46
Despite trailing Nebraska 46-38 following a 6-0 Nebraska run entering the final minute of the first half, Iowa managed to cut the lead to three, 46-43 at the end of the half.
HALF | Iowa 43, Nebraska 46Tate Sage sends the #Hawkeyes to the half with a buzzer-beating three to cut Nebraska’s lead three.It was ugly at times, but Iowa getting out of that down three is HUGE. pic.twitter.com/mX3GU9hg51
— Ethan Petrik (@ethan_petrik) March 27, 2026
Folgueiras got a paint jumper to fall with 44 seconds left and Sage hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the half.
Iowa knots game at 50 to begin second half
H2 14:45 | Iowa 50, Nebraska 50
After allowing Nebraska to shoot 15-of-26 (57.7%) in the first half, Iowa held the Huskers to 2-of-8 to begin the second quarter.
The Hawkeyes, meanwhile, shot 3-of-7 to start and close the gap completely, tying the game at 50-50 with 14:45 to play
Iowa, Nebraska separated by three heading into final five minutes
H2 7:48 | Iowa 59, Nebraska 62
Iowa had two shots to take the lead after tying the game at 53-53, but failed to get either attempt to fall.
Nebraska managed to snap the gridlock with a Frager three-pointer and a Sandfort paint jumper to go back in front.
Iowa, Nebraska tied with three minutes to go
H2 3:11 | Iowa 65, Nebraska 65
An 8-3 surge from the Hawkeyes allowed them to gut a 62-57 Nebraska lead to a 65-65 tie.
However, with three good looks from the perimeter to take the lead, Iowa missed all three before the Huskers managed to take possession and call a timeout with 3:11 remaining in regulation.
Iowa takes three-point lead late
H2 0:58 | Iowa 71, Nebraska 68
After a Sandfort three put Nebraska ahead three with just over six minutes to play, three straight three pointers from Folgueiras, Stirtz and Sage put the Hawkeyes ahead by six with 1:18 to play.
Iowa topples Nebraska advances to first Elite 8 since 1987
FINAL | Iowa 77, Nebraska 71
Iowa closed the game on a 6-3 run, including a pair of dunks from Folgueiras, to seal the win over Nebraska.
The win sends the Hawkeyes to their first Elite 8 since 1987.
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
