March Madness doesn’t forgive mistakes, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers have learned that the hard way. In a game where every possession mattered, Fred Hoiberg’s team found themselves in an unimaginable situation during their Sweet 16 clash against the Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Hawk men didn’t hesitate to use it to their advantage.

With less than a minute left on the clock, the Hawkeyes were leading with 71-68, and that’s when Kael Combs spotted his teammate Alvaro Folgueiras standing completely unguarded on the other side of the court. And if you are wondering why? Because Nebraska made a major blunder by having just four players on the court.

So when the Cornhuskers’ head coach was asked why the officials didn’t stop the game until Nebraska had five players on the floor during a post-game interview, Hoiberg admitted he wasn’t even sure what the rule says.

“I’ve never been in a situation like that. I know they always count to make sure there’s not six,” Fred Hoiberg said. “I don’t know the rule on that with four, but yeah, I mean, again, it was a miscommunication and, unfortunately, it happened. But as far as the rule, I’ve never been a part of anything like that.”

He even went a step further and took the blame for that whole mess upon himself.

“Put that one on me,” he said. “It was a miscommunication. I’m the head coach, and that one’s on me.”

But the damage was done, Folgueiras got the ball and rushed towards the Cornhuskers’ basket uncontested before Berke Büyüktuncel fouled him at the rim. However, even after being fouled, Folgueiras scored and drew a free throw. So within seconds, just like that, the Hawkeyes built a six-point cushion, which ultimately helped them close the game at 77-71.

One mistake was all it took for the Cornhuskers to hand the Hawkeyes their easiest points of the night at the worst possible time.

Fred Hoiberg Tips Hat to Ben McCollum as Iowa Execution Seals Win

After the chaos of that late-game miscommunication, coach Hoiberg made sure to highlight something just as important: the way the Hawkeyes executed in this game. And to him, that started with head coach Ben McCollum.

“I’ve got so much respect for Ben with how he has run his programs… it doesn’t matter the level, he’s going to continue to be successful,” Hoiberg said.

With this win in their bag, the Hawkeyes are 24-12 in the 2025-26 NCAA season and will enter the Elite Eight for the first time in 39 years. Throughout the season and especially in the Sweet 16 game, they didn’t rush, didn’t panic, and most importantly, didn’t turn the ball over.

So the Cornhuskers simply struggled to keep up. They shot just 28% in the second half and couldn’t find consistency from deep, going 6-of-24 from beyond the arc. And as Hoiberg pointed out, the difference extended beyond shooting.

“I think it was 20-7 in points off turnovers. They just took care of the ball way better than we did tonight,” he said.

That composure extended to players like Pryce Sandfort, who knocked down six threes and led Nebraska with 25 points, and Braden Frager, who added 16. But even those efforts weren’t enough to counter Iowa’s late execution. Because when the game tightened, the Hawkeyes made the plays and Nebraska didn’t.

“They made the shots… we had some really good looks, unfortunately, they didn’t go down,” Hoiberg added.

Now, with momentum firmly on their side, No. 9-seed Iowa moves on to the Elite Eight for the first time in decades, where they will face the Illinois Fighting Illini on Saturday (5:09 p.m. CT, TBS and truTV) with a trip to the Final Four on the line.