Everything had been going right for the Hawkeyes in the first year under Ben McCollum until the past few games.
The squad was on a six-game winning streak, Bennett Stirtz could not be stopped offensively, and all signs pointed to a guaranteed spot in the NCAA Tournament.
That all came to a screetching halt against Maryland.
Iowa traveled to College Park, MD, to battle the Terrapins on the road, and it was a disaster on both ends of the court.
The defense allowed Maryland to score 77 points, six above its season average, and shot a pathetic percentage from the floor in the loss.
McCollum called the performance "horrendous," and even though the loss to Purdue was just as bad, he acknowledged that sometimes, losing is a part of the process.
McCollum is adamant that they will keep fighting
Despite a 21-point blowout loss to Purdue, McCollum stated that he isn't going to hang his head or pout because that's just not who he is.
Ben McCollum: "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. 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.… pic.twitter.com/VQi9KqaY9R
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) February 15, 2026
After saying that Purdue kicked their butts on Saturday night, he said he is not embarrassed by the performance.
Losing is all part of the process, and they will fight harder going forward.
While many coaches would get up to the podium and call the performance unacceptable, McCollum would not say he is embarrassed; he only wants his team to play harder.
To even be in a position where the program is playing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament is a miraculous turnaround for a team that won a total of 17 games last season.
McCollum and his staff put together a competitive team in a small time frame, and, excluding a couple of poor performances, they have given Iowa fans something to cheer about this season.