Iowa Hits a Bump, But McCollum’s Message Is Clear: “We’re Not Done Yet”
Things were rolling for Iowa under first-year head coach Ben McCollum. A six-game winning streak, a surging Bennett Stirtz lighting up the scoreboard, and a team that looked like a lock for the NCAA Tournament - the kind of turnaround that had Hawkeye fans believing again. But the last two games have been a reality check, and McCollum isn’t sugarcoating it.
The wheels came off in College Park. Iowa’s trip to Maryland ended in a frustrating loss that exposed issues on both ends of the floor.
The defense gave up 77 points - six more than Maryland’s season average - and the offense couldn’t find a rhythm. The shooting numbers were rough, and the overall performance left McCollum with one word: “horrendous.”
And just when they needed a bounce-back, Purdue came to town and made things worse. The Boilermakers didn’t just win - they dominated, handing Iowa a 21-point loss that stung every bit as much as the Maryland defeat.
But here’s where McCollum separates himself. He didn’t deflect.
He didn’t lash out. And he certainly didn’t act like the sky was falling.
“I think some coaches, they come in here and they say, ‘Ah, it’s unacceptable.’ And it is.
We need to play hard. We need to play better than that,” McCollum said after the Purdue game.
“But you don’t sit here and say, ‘I’m embarrassed.’ Because I’m not.
I’m not embarrassed. They kicked our butt for us.”
That’s not a coach making excuses. That’s a coach owning the moment - and making it clear that this team isn’t folding.
McCollum’s message is simple: losing is part of the process. It’s not about pretending the last two games didn’t happen - they did, and they were ugly. But it’s also not about letting those losses define the season.
And let’s not lose sight of the bigger picture. This is a program that won 17 games all of last season.
McCollum and his staff have taken that foundation and, in a matter of months, built a team that’s in the NCAA Tournament conversation. That’s not a small feat.
It’s a dramatic turnaround, and even with a couple of missteps, Iowa has given its fans something to be excited about again.
So yes, the last two games have been rough. There’s no hiding from that.
But McCollum isn’t hanging his head - and he’s not letting his team do it either. The message is clear: the fight’s not over.