Nebraska commits embarrassing gaffe in crunch time of loss to Iowa

Fred Hoiberg inadvertently pulled a Norman Dale.

Nebraska had just four players on the court during a key moment of their 77-71 loss to Iowa in their South Region Sweet 16 matchup of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night in Houston.

Trailing by just three with 58.8 seconds left, Nebraska took the court with just four players and quickly allowed an easy dunk for Alvaro Folgueiras, who was also fouled on the play.

By the time Nebraska got the ball back, Iowa was leading by six points.

It never got closer the rest of the way.

It marked an end to Nebraska’s historic March Madness run.

Alvaro Folgueiras celebrates during Iowa’s 77-71 Sweet 16 win over Nebraska on March 26, 2026 in Houston. AP

The No. 4-seeded Cornhuskers earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament win in the first round against No. No. 13 Troy.

And then they beat No. 5 Vanderbilt in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16.

But in a showdown with No. 9-seeded Iowa on Thursday, their run came to an end.

Fred Hoiberg reacts during the Nebraska-Iowa game on March 26, 2026. Getty Images

Iowa reaches the Elite Eight in its first season under head coach Ben McCollum.

The Hawkeyes fired longtime underachieving coach Fran McCaffery after last season.

All-Big 10 Second-Teamer Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 20 points, while Tate Sage added 19 and Folgueiras chipped in 16 off the bench.

Nebraska star and All-Big 10 First-Teamer, Pryce Sandfort, led all scorers with 25 points.