Iowa had to overcome a lot of offensive inefficiencies in their pivotal win over Clemson.
The Hawkeyes had multiple stretches without scoring a field goal for five-plus minutes, and that, coupled with Bennett Stirtz's struggles on offense, made the game much harder.
To Iowa's credit, they played extremely hard, and Stirtz's teammates stepped up while he was trying to navigate a poor shooting night.
One of those teammates was Alvaro Folgueiras, who has become an important sixth-man for the Hawkeyes with his shooting and passing abilities. Against Clemson, he was extra motivated to succeed because of two members of the crowd at the Benchmark International Arena.
Folgueiras' parents were in attendance for Iowa's win over Clemson
Earlier this season, Folgueiras' brother Ignacio was in attendance for Iowa's game against Ohio State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, and he had two more special visitors from home at the game vs. Clemson.
Just informed by Iowa sports information that this today's game is just the second time Alvaro Folgueiras' parents have come from Spain to watch him play in college. Today is the first time they've seen him play at Iowa.
— Eliot Clough (@EliotClough) March 21, 2026
According to 247Sports Hawkeye insider Eliot Clough, Folgueiras' parents were at his game against Clemson, only the second time they have seen him play collegiate hoops.
They attended one game during his two years with the Robert Morris Colonials program, and finally saw him play in a Hawkeye uniform against the Tigers.
Folgueiras was aggressive from the first moment he got in the game, pushing Iowa across the finish line with some tough drives to the basket and rebounds in the final minutes.
He finished the game with 14 points and four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench, and now we know why he had a little extra motivation to play well on Friday night.