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Bennet Stirtz and the rest of the Iowa men's basketball team had fans partying like it's 1999 when the No. 9 seed Hawkeyes beat No. 1 Florida 73-72 in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
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The year 1999 was also the last time Iowa reached the Sweet 16 in the men's tournament.
Hawkeye fans in 2026 know how nice it is to have their team reach the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, but what was it like in 1999?
Flashback to the 1999 Hawkeyes
It's March 13, 1999, and a ruckus group of Hawkeye fans exits the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. A year from now, the aging, 1970s‑era arena will be demolished to clear space for the city's next generation of pro sports venues.
The No. 5 seed Hawkeyes just defeated No. 4 Arkansas 82-72 in the 1999 NCAA Tournament to advance to their first Sweet 16 since 1988. In his 13th and final season, head coach Tom Davis guided Iowa to an 18–8 regular‑season record and an NCAA tournament berth on the strength of guard Dean Oliver and big man J.R. Koch, both double‑digitscorers in 1998–99 (Koch is the father of current Hawkeyes forward Cooper Koch).
Iowa's memorable NCAA tournament run ended in the Sweet 16 on March 18 with a 78–68 loss to No. 1 seed Connecticut, the eventual national champion. The Huskies were led by Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun in his 13th season and featured two-time Big East Player of the Year and future NBA All-Star Richard "Rip" Hamilton.
Iowa kept up with the exhausting pace of the Huskies throughout the first half, trailing just 40–35 at the break and briefly taking a one‑point lead early in the second half. Connecticut ultimately took control behind its star backcourt of Hamilton and fellow future NBA player Khalid El‑Amin, who combined for 45 points.
What was pop culture like in 1999, the last time Iowa was in the Sweet 16?
Twenty‑seven years ago, the last time Iowa men's basketball was in the Sweet 16, Bill Clinton was president, having been recently acquitted by the U.S. Senate on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
Cher's "Believe" topped radio charts during this time, while Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On" won both Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the 1999 Grammys, held a month earlier. Harold Ramis' "Analyze This," starring Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal, was dominating the box offices, and "ER" and "Friends" were some of TV's top shows.
It was also the year Brittney Spears released her debut album, "…Baby One More Time."
If you were alive during this time, you probably remember frosted tips and spiked hair, boxy and oversized clothes and brands like Tommy Hilfiger, FUBU and Abercrombie and Fitch being found everywhere on school campuses across the country.
In Iowa sports news, on March 20, just two days after Iowa basketball's Sweet 16 loss, the Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling team won the 1999 NCAA team championship. Months earlier, on Dec. 2, 1998, Kirk Ferentz was hired as the Iowa football program's 25th head football coach to replace Hayden Fry. Ferentz wrapped up his 27th season as Iowa's head coach in 2025 and is college football's longest active tenured head coach.
How to watch Iowa in the Sweet 16
Head coach Ben McCollum and the Hawkeyes will now face No. 4-seed Nebraska in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 26, at the Toyota Center in Houston.
The game tips off at 6:30 p.m. CT and will air on TBS.
Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at [email protected] or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: When did Iowa last make the Sweet 16? See life in 1999.
