Iowa's Defense Dominates in B1G Win Over UCLA

The Iowa Hawkeyes playing well in Ben McCollum's first season at the helm was one thing prior to conference play; continuing that success against competition in a premier college basketball conference, though? That's an entirely different feat. Against the UCLA Bruins in the first game of their ongoing B1G schedule, McCollum's Hawkeyes made a statement in doing just that.

In the 74-61 rout, spurred by a successful white-out from a packed crowd, it was Iowa's defense that smothered the Bruins to the point of no return. At halftime, the home team had already taken an 18-point lead, holding UCLA to just 22 points in the period. From there, the contest never got interesting enough to again consider.

It was all black and gold, all the way through. The Bruins shot just 21.4% from long range (3-for-14), turning the ball over 12 times and committing 23 fouls in the process.

"To see the crowd for my team, because whether people think so or not, those guys had a lot of other options, including the six at Drake. That was a 31-win team," McCollum remarked, following the seismic victory at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Jan 3, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Tavion Banks (6) shoots the ball as UCLA Bruins forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) defends during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Connection Between Crowd, Coach and Players

Coach McCollum has made a case since the start of the season to pack the stands ahead of what is now his program's planned resurgence. As Iowa continues to stack wins, the Hawkeyes' faithful respond in droves.

Ben McCollum: "To see the crowd for my team, because whether people think so or not, those guys had a lot of other options, including the six at Drake. That was a 31-win team. Alvaro (Folgueiras) had a lot of different options. A lot of those other guys did, too, and they bet on… pic.twitter.com/DQtlBzukNT
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) January 4, 2026

The result is not only a better connection between crowd, coach and players, but a chaotic environment that further enables defensive performances like the one Iowa managed against UCLA.

"They want to flip it into what we think we can make it, and they see it trending that direction."

Good Things Happening

"It doesn’t mean it’s just going to keep going that direction..." he warned, "There’s going to be downs. And there’s going to be some ups. To see that (crowd) is pretty cool, I think, for our guys, that like, man, if we work for something, good things can happen.”

Bennett Stirtz gonna take a shot clock violation at the end of beating UCLA… Nah

Blows the roof off the place. Statement win for Iowa gets punctuated @KCRG_Sports pic.twitter.com/P7mLMtEmai
— Collin Davies (@DaviesCollin) January 4, 2026

Now 12-2 (2-1) overall, the No. 25 Hawkeyes are threatening yet another jump in national polls across the board, as well as making a case for the type of B1G relevancy that has eluded the program for years.

As fans continue to pile in and the team improves seemingly every game out, the 2025-26 Iowa squad approaches what is beginning to feel like a truly historic year in the making.

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