Iowa danced its way to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament after shocking Nebraska, 77-71, in a nail-biting affair at Toyota Center on Thursday.
The No. 9 Hawkeyes took advantage of the costly blunder of the No. 4 Cornhuskers with less than a minute left to seal the win and advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
Iowa went down by 10 points early in the first half, and coach Ben McCollum was not having it. The image of McCollum screaming at his players during a huddle quickly went viral.
After the game, guard Bennett Stirtz revealed what McCollum, who is in his first year with Iowa, told them during the heated moment.
“He slammed his whiteboard and broke his marker on the floor. Ink everywhere. It was very intense,” said Stirtz in a video posted by 247Sports' Eliot Clough.
“He was just telling us we sucked, and we were soft.”
What did McCollum say to his team when they were down 10?
“He slammed his white board and broke his marker on the floor. Ink everywhere. … He was just telling us we sucked, and we were soft.” https://t.co/0com8yRf6m pic.twitter.com/DjPynEifXA
— Eliot Clough (@EliotClough) March 27, 2026
The pep talk definitely worked, as the Hawkeyes rallied in the second half and outscored the Cornhuskers, 34-25.
Iowa will face either Illinois or Houston on Saturday for a ticket to the Final Four. Iowa has never been to the national semifinals.
Stritz led the scoring anew for the Hawkeyes with 20 points, including three three-pointers.
Tate Sage and Alvaro Folgueiras came up big off the bench, adding 19 and 16 points, respectively. Sage also had eight rebounds, while Folgueiras made a critical and-1 play after Nebraska only had four players on the floor.
McCollum steered Iowa to its fifth appearance in the Sweet 16 after knocking out defending national champion Florida in the second round.
