The 79-72 final score from Iowa's brutal loss to Purdue on the road does not tell the whole story.
Iowa finally came out strong to start and gave Purdue everything that it could handle in front of a packed crowd at Mackey Arena.
Leaving out the questionable refereeing in this game, Iowa faltered down the stretch with poor defense and turnovers.
After a painful loss in West Lafayette, the Hawkeyes have to take a step back and figure out what excatly went wrong.
Iowa continues to falter down the stretch of important games
This is the second time the Hawkeyes have been on the road in a hostile environment with a lead, and failed to leave with a win.
Iowa had a similar outcome against Iowa State on the road in Ames, where it led at halftime, but ran out of gas at the end.
Excluding Iowa's blowout loss to Michigan State in their first true road game, the Hawkeyes have been competitive in every road game, but haven't found a way to close them out.
Iowa is now 0-4 on the road this season as the squad can't find a win away from Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Stritz's shot selection cost Iowa at the end of the game
Iowa fans rejoiced when star guard Bennett Stirtz announced he was forgoing the NBA Draft to follow Ben McCollum to Iowa, and without him, the Hawkeyes would not be nearly as good as they are.
Stirtz was leading the Hawkeyes in points (18.0), assists (7.5), and steals (1.7) per game heading into the matchup with Purdue, and he put on a show against Braden Smith.
Stirtz dropped 19 points, but the points he didn't score were the big story at the end of the game.
On back-to-back possessions, Stirtz hoisted contested three-pointers that missed, and Iowa could not secure the offensive rebound.
You expect more from a potential All-American, and while Stirtz kept Iowa afloat for most of the game, he should not escape criticism.
Costly late turnovers are becoming way too common
Iowa is one of the better assist-to-turnover ratio teams in the nation, but they become too careless with the basketball when it matters most.
It is something the Hawkeyes can easily correct, but they have not handled late-game pressure well during this three-game losing streak.
If Iowa wants to take the next step and become a top-tier team in the Big Ten and nationally, ball security in the late stages of games is paramount.
Kael Combs has established himself as a playmaker
Stirtz has gotten in early foul trouble way too much over the past few games, but luckily for the Hawkeyes, Kael Combs has picked up the slack.
In Wednesday's loss to Purdue, Combs scored a career-high 16 points, including draining four of five shots from three-point range.
If Stritz can't stay out of foul trouble, the Hawkeyes may have found a weapon in Combs if he can continue playing at a high level.
Combs has been a starter all season, with Isaia Howard coming off the bench, but Combs has become a player that Ben McCollum can't take out of the game.
Even though a lot hasn't gone right for the Hawkeyes during this three-game skid, Combs has certainly been a bright spot.
Iowa is running out of time to pick up essential Quad 1 wins
What started out as a great season for the Hawkeyes has quickly turned sour after a three-game losing streak.
Iowa has not been able to hold onto leads, and is now 0-4 on the road.
A big part of the NCAA Tournament entrance is Quad wins, and Iowa does not have a single one on its resume to this point.
The worst part about it is that Iowa could easily have two or more Quad 1 wins, but faltered down the stretch against Iowa State and Purdue, and could not upset Illinois at home.
There is still time for the Hawkeyes to turn this season around, but it has to begin as soon as possible.