Updated March 23, 2026, 3:24 p.m. ET
CBS, TNT and TBS basketball analyst Charles Barkley was not a fan of how Florida basketball handled its final defensive possession in its Round of 32 upset loss to Iowa.
Barkley questioned the strategy of the Florida Gators going to full court pressure on the in-bounds play, which resulted in Iowa point guard Bennett Stirtz springing free and finding Alvaro Folgueiras open in the corner for a 3-point attempt. Folgueiras calmly sank the 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left, giving Iowa a 73-72 lead.
“It was one of the worst defensive calls,” Barkley said on the Dan Patrick Show on Monday, March 23. “It was just a bad play.”
Florida basketball coach Todd Golden said the goal was to foul on the play.
“The idea was to keep the ball out of Bennett’s hands, let him throw it to somebody else,” Golden said. “So we wanted a face guard and throw it to somebody else, and then take a foul and put one of their role players in a pressure situation. But they ran a little kind of double stagger, got him loose.”
Barkley still questioned the decision, saying it resulted in a 3-on-2 fast break rather than having defenders in spots to keep the play in front of them.
“That made it even worse,” Barkley said. “Why are you chasing dudes if you want to foul? What I wish he said, and I think Coach Golden is a terrific coach, because Iowa outplayed them and deserved to win the game. That’s what he should have said …
“They beat their frontline up with a bunch of little dudes, they outworked them, they out hustled them, their Coach had a great gameplan.”
Golden did complement Iowa in his opening press conference statement.
“Credit Iowa,” Golden said. “I thought they played well, especially in the first half. Had us on our heels a little bit, and I thought they were physically tougher than us in the first half. And it took a little bit for us to regain our footing and then they got off to a good start in the second half.”
Kevin Brockway is The Gainesville Sun’s Florida beat writer. Contact him at kbrockway@gannett.com. Follow him on X @KevinBrockwayG1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com