March Madness reactions to Florida's second-round loss to Iowa
· Yahoo Sports
Florida basketball's March Madness run came to an early screeching halt on Sunday night at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes, who grinded the Gators down and eeked out a 73-72 victory in the NCAA Tournament second round.
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The Hawkeyes absolutely silenced Rueben Chineyelu, who was mired in foul trouble all night, resulting in just 19 minutes played, scoring zero points on one shot attempt while grabbing just one single rebound. His teammates did all they could to fill the void, but after 40 minutes, the ninth-seeded team beat the top-seeded team for the first upset of a No. 1 in 2026.
After the final horn sounded, the Gator Nation and the haters logged into social media to share their feelings about Florida's final game of the season. Here is a sample of some of the best comments out there, with a heavy dose of schadenfreude.
final#GoGators | @WellsFargopic.twitter.com/MjuZOJ6fdC
— Florida Gators Men’s Basketball (@GatorsMBK) March 23, 2026
— Pardon My Take (@PardonMyTake) March 23, 2026
Florida gators lost by one point unbelievable ! pic.twitter.com/qxDMCq7fZ7
— RipJuan (@Mrr_backagain) March 23, 2026
There is not a fan base down more than the Gators fan
— Kurt B (@KurtB247) March 23, 2026
Swept by bama in baseball and just lost to Iowa in the tourney 🤣🤣🤣
Gutted for Haugh. He and Condon and those guys are Gators Legends forever. Gave Florida everything. Rings. Banners. Kid lived his dream of wearing orange & blue in epic fashion. Respect.
— FlawdaGata 🐊 (@AirFlawdaJordan) March 23, 2026
I swear do da lordt if I see single one of you declaring that this Florida basketball season was good “overall” I’m gonna have to risk jail time
— Ćorluka Dončić (@RealFakeSamDunn) March 23, 2026
It’s a failure. The team failed. This shouldn’t be hard to grasp #Gators
Down go the Gators!!! Hawkeyes take out a one seed along with my bracket, and my +825 parlay..🤦🏻♂️
— Fade or Follow Podcast (@Fade_or_Follow) March 23, 2026
the gators loss took out half of my bracket pool
— I (@usfcardsfan) March 23, 2026
Take that Gators 😤 pic.twitter.com/Z8mqPgJlnj
— PATRICK⭐️ (@TrickyFever22) March 23, 2026
@BoogieFland I'm proud of y'all boys!!!!!! Win lose or draw y'all chose to be gators and I appreciate that fr fr
— Sound Pyrex 🏝 (@SoundPyrex) March 23, 2026
Florida played like hot garbage all night. Missed so many open shots that are usually gimmes and couldn’t make free throws.
— General Skeptic (@saltyfan) March 23, 2026
The fact they had a chance to win at the buzzer is crazy…but you actually have to take the shot to get the win. #Gators#Golden#MarchMadness#Floridapic.twitter.com/ve069OXcNW
DOWN GO THE GATORS pic.twitter.com/waztoQvdwS
— SleeperHoops (@Sleeper_Hoops) March 23, 2026
people are gonna hyperfixate on the back court
— raj 🇵🇸 (@cowboyraj_) March 23, 2026
but if Haugh and Chinyelu played better.. we win this game. They had some of their worst performances of the season
the Gators have always been built around their front court.
Gators lost because drake mentioned them in that "what did I miss" song awhile back ago
— Sound Pyrex 🏝 (@SoundPyrex) March 23, 2026
Smh lol he brung his bad luck to the gators a year ahead of time
Why press when you’re up two?
— Joshua Gitman (@JoshGitman) March 23, 2026
You have one of the best defenses in the country.
Does Golden not trust his man-to-man defense in that situation?
Worst case, you give up a tough two or a contested three.
Instead, you give up a wide-open three.
Ball Game!#Gators…
Take that Gators 😤 pic.twitter.com/Z8mqPgJlnj
— PATRICK⭐️ (@TrickyFever22) March 23, 2026
Florida shouldn’t have pressed & Xavian Lee shouldn’t have passed that ball.
— Brett Greenberg (@BrettGreenberg_) March 23, 2026
The Gators also didn’t deserve to win that game.
Iowa outplayed them start to finish.
That being said, idk if I agree with ALL of the Todd Golden slander — he did just win a chip.
IDK. pic.twitter.com/czwz3TRmHI
Disappointed.. yes. Great season @GatorsMBK. Go Gators....
— LOS🕎🦁 (@Gatormade78) March 23, 2026
I’m still staring at the screen in disbelief that the gators lost that game. YOU DONT EVEN GET A SHOT OFF??? HAUGH DOESNT TOUCH THE BALL!!!!
— S. O’C (@Big__Sean99) March 23, 2026
Everybody is talking about the loss - and rightfully so. But what the Florida Gators have been able to accomplish over the last two seasons should not be understated.
— Isaac Edelman (@IsaacEdelman) March 23, 2026
Forget the winning for a second. The amount of fun these guys have on the court is off the charts. It’s a true…
Florida is in an interesting spot. 🐊
— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) March 23, 2026
Lee & Handlogten are seniors.
Fland, Haugh, Condon, Chinyelu, Klavzar, Brown & Ingram could all return.
Will everyone stay? Can the Gators run it back next season? 🔥 pic.twitter.com/WZqbgMk2cs
I’m paying Boogie Fland to stay the hell off the gators next year so he can’t sell during March Madness https://t.co/qnmY4GDRNe
— Ty (@whispunhurd) March 23, 2026
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: March Madness: Fans react to Florida's loss vs Iowa in NCAA Tournament