Twitter Gold: Iowa Fans In Heaven
Watching these Iowa fans celebrate finally getting out of the first weekend of the NCAA tournament is oddly moving.
TAMPA, FLORIDA - MARCH 22: Head coachBen McCollum of the Iowa Hawkeyes reacts to winning the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament against the Florida Gators held at Benchmark International Arena on March 22, 2026 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Tyler Schank/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) | NCAA Photos via Getty Images As Duke fans, we’re all used to a certain level of success. Making the Sweet 16 is good, the Elite Eight is better, Final Four is great, but we all look for titles.
Same for Kansas, Kentucky, UConn, and UNC, though not so much there lately. Not every school has the track records that those schools, or Michigan or Michigan State, have. Take Iowa.
When Lute Olson was there, he got Iowa to a Final Four, but fled for the desert, feeling like Iowa City was a fish bowl. Since he left, Iowa has gone through George Raveling, Dr. Tom Davis, Steve Alford, Todd Lickliter, and Fran McCaffery, before hiring Ben McCollum last spring.
Since Davis made the Sweet 16 in 1999, no one has made it past the first weekend. So for Hawkeye fans, beating Florida was more than it would be at an elite school that makes it there on the regular. Most recently, it was Fran McCaffery, who in 15 years, won four NCAA games.