Todd Golden’s top-seeded Florida Gators crashed out of the 2026 NCAA Tournament with a 73-72 loss to No. 9 seed Iowa in the second round on Sunday. The Gators, who won the national title last season, were on course to make it to the Sweet 16, but a corner three-pointer by Hawkeyes guard Alvaro Folgueiras with 4.5 seconds left meant that Golden’s team could no longer defend its championship.
After the game, Florida reporter Talia Baia grabbed headlines on social media when she compared the Gators’ loss to a breakup.
“This is 100% worse than a breakup maybe even a divorce,” Baia tweeted on Sunday.
Baia attended the University of Florida from 2021 to 2025. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Journalism and Communications.
Baia went viral for her locker room interviews as a student reporter during the NCAA men’s tournament last year. She currently covers Notre Dame Athletics for ABC57 News in South Bend, Indiana.
In another post, Baia shared a video of her different reactions, including Florida’s win over Houston in the title game in 2025, compared to the Gators being eliminated by the Hawkeyes on Sunday.
Florida HC Todd Golden on Loss to Iowa in 2026 NCAA Tournament
After Florida’s loss to Iowa, Todd Golden shared his disappointment in his post-game news conference, while adding that he was still proud of his players.
“Obviously, a disappointing result for us tonight,” Golden said. “Credit to Iowa, 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. Then they got off to a good start in the second half. Really proud of our guys and the way we fought, obviously, came back and took the lead … and just did a poor job executing on both ends in the last two minutes.”
“I thought, obviously, on the last play we wanted to take a foul to prevent them from getting off a three, and they got away from us, we weren’t able to take it, and they knocked it down. So credit to them for that. Just a tough way to go out, but really proud of my group. I love these guys; they did a great job for us all year, gaining a second one-seed in a row. Tough one for us to swallow, and we’ll be thinking of this one for a while.”
Iowa will face No. 4 seed Nebraska in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.
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