Take a deep breath, Iowa fans. A win is a win, no matter how close it ended up.
After an eight-day layoff, the Hawkeyes were back in action on Wednesday night against a tough USC squad, led by 26-year-old Chad Baker-Mazara.
The Trojans came to Iowa City after a tough come-from-behind win over Wisconsin last weekend, and started the game extremely hot.
The game ultimately ended in favor of the Hawkeyes, who took home a slim 73-72 lead, and star guard Bennet Stirtz acknowledged it was good to get a win, but it wasn't easy.
Stirtz knows a win is a win, but it was stressful for everyone
USC jumped out to an early 10-point lead before Iowa finally woke up and cut the deficit to one by halftime.
It was all Iowa for most of the second half, leading by as much as 17 before USC fought all the way back and took the lead with under 10 seconds remaining.
Stirtz was able to draw a foul in the final seconds, sinking two free throws to give Iowa the lead and the win.
Every win is hard to get in Big Ten play, and you know it was challenging when Stirtz repeatedly stated how stressful it was.
Bennett Stirtz on how he feels about the win: "It feels, obviously, pretty good, but bad at the same time. Because we stressed the fans out, stressed the coaching staff out and myself and teammates. Blew a lead that we shouldn't have and got to get better."
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) January 29, 2026
He acknowledged that USC's late comeback stressed out the coaching staff, the fans, and himself, and he feels bad about it.
Stirtz even went as far as to say that they "blew a lead we shouldn't have," and the squad has to get better.
Iowa has had a bad habit of starting and finishing games slowly in multiple games this season, and that has to change before the Big Ten Tournament gets underway.
Giving the coaching staff and fans a heart attack every game isn't the way to go, but at least Stirtz and the squad have made it entertaining so far this season.