Bennett Stirtz Talks About How Iowa Basketball’s Tight Losses Are Making the Hawkeyes a Tougher Team In the locker room, the message is one of purpose rather than panic. Iowa basketball’s close losses have subtly emerged as one of the key narratives of the Hawkeyes’ early Big Ten season. After yet another heartbreaking loss, Iowa’s players feel that these small setbacks will ultimately determine who they are in the end.
The record doesn’t adequately convey the tenacity, annoyance, and faith surrounding Ben McCollum’s Hawkeyes, a team that is currently 12–5 overall. Iowa has demonstrated that it can compete with the top players in the Big Ten. The issue? completing the task.
Why Iowa basketball’s narrow defeats are turning into the Hawkeyes’ pivotal moment The most recent instance occurred in a matchup with No. 5 Purdue, which seemed like a breakthrough waiting to happen. The Hawkeyes dominated portions of the game and even took a nine-point lead, so Iowa didn’t just hang around.
They were up against one of the best teams in the country on the road. Nevertheless, Iowa left with another painful lesson rather than a historic victory when the final horn blew. Bennett Stirtz, a point guard, faced the truth head-on. He leaned into it instead.
According to Stirtz, “suffering makes you better.” “What you do during these times is what improves you. I believe that having a short-term memory and a next-play, next-game mindset are essential. It’s back to work tomorrow morning after we return to Iowa City tonight. The team’s refusal to allow disappointment to become uncertainty is reflected in those words.
Not blowouts, but close losses The way these games are concluding is one thing that sets Iowa apart from teams that are actually having trouble in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes’ only double-digit defeat of the season came on the road against Michigan State. The other losses have all been by a single-digit margin, frequently in the closing minutes.
Although difficult to read, the breakdown is illuminating:
A four-point loss to Iowa State
A three-point defeat against Minnesota
A six-point setback versus Illinois
A seven-point loss at Purdue
These aren’t games where Iowa was outmatched. They’re games that slipped away.
What Iowa still has to offer There’s a strong feeling that Iowa is closer than the standings indicate, despite the frustration. In what many believe to be the harshest conference in college basketball, the Hawkeyes compete every night. Every possession feels amplified, and the Big Ten doesn’t provide any respite.
McCollum’s team has demonstrated its ability to create leads, stop elite scorers, and play offensively against elite opponents. Consistency in late-game situations—closing out possessions, appreciating the basketball, and making the plays that set good teams apart from great ones—is the missing component.
This is where Stirtz’s perspective is most important. As the calendar moves closer to conference play, Iowa needs his “next play” strategy.
Implications for the NCAA Tournament are imminent. This is a fact that Iowa cannot deny: in March, close losses are not deserving of sympathy. The selection committee for the NCAA Tournament prioritizes wins over moral triumphs. Even though the Hawkeyes are still very much in the running, a series of close losses could subtly lower their seeding. Urgency is growing as a result. Iowa just needs to finish; it doesn’t need to start over. The story of this season could quickly shift with a few timely bounces and a few late stops.
A group that continues to believe The program’s belief is what sticks out the most. Finger-pointing or a sense of collapse are absent. Rather, Iowa is relying on its preparation, work ethic, and belief that hardship now might pay off later. These difficult times could be setting the stage for something greater in a league where toughness is necessary to survive.
The Hawkeyes won’t just stabilize; when March rolls around, they’ll be among the most formidable teams in the Big Ten if Iowa basketball can finally turn close losses into hard-earned victories.
