Another day, another disappointing loss for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
After jumping to No. 19 in the AP Top 25 rankings, Iowa has come crashing down to earth, losing its last three games in heartbreaking fashion.
The avalanche began with a loss in Minneapolis to unranked Minnesota, where the squad made a remarkable comeback, only to fall short in the waning moments.
Then the Hawkeyes fell short after overcoming an 18-point deficit at home to No. 15 Illinois.
Iowa's most recent loss to Purdue was much of the same, but Head Coach Ben McCollum knows that to win consistently, like you want to, sometimes you are going to fail.
Ben McCollum: "Part of trying to be good is sometimes there's a level of failure that comes with it. I think as you try to progress to be good, sometimes you do get beat like what has occurred lately. But you can't let that impact your ability to continue to fight and continue to…
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) January 15, 2026
McCollum made a humbling statement postgame after the loss to Purdue, saying that, "part of trying to be good is sometimes there's a level of failure that comes with it."
He went on to say that the team can't let that effect their outlook moving forward.
McCollum has not abandoned all hope after another close loss
During the squad's recent struggles, everyone has seemingly forgotten how bad the program had been over the past few seasons.
Iowa's 14 wins this season are only three away from their total from all of last season, and there is still over a month left.
McCollum has done a lot of winning in his career, but it did not happen overnight.
He put in the time and effort and is doing the same thing in the early stages of his tenure in Iowa City.
McCollum knows it isn't always going to be easy, but to get where they want to go, they can't let losing impact how hard they fight in the future.
He knows how good they can be, and even after another tough loss, Iowa played well and showed that they can be good in the future.