Iowa Fans Irate After Pathetic Home Game vs. Illinois

Within minutes of dropping their second straight, the Iowa Hawkeyes saw roughly four times more replies than likes on their final score post.

75-69 was the final as Iowa falls to 2-3 in B1G play with their second straight losing effort. In front of their biggest home crowd in recent memory, No. 16 Illinois was simply too much to handle.

Jan 11, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Tate Sage (24) is defended by Illinois Fighting Illini forward Ben Humrichous (3) and forward David Mirkovic (right) during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

First-year head coach Ben McCollum hasn't been able to get over the hump as time and time again, this Iowa team doesn't fully show up.

An early deficit was the nail in the coffin, though the Hawkeyes deserve credit for playing until the final whistle. Either way, it was too little too late.

Iowa Fans Let The Team Hear It

Great fight. Be back against Purdue.
— HawkeyesBetter (@HawkeyesBetter_) January 11, 2026

"Stirtz has just got to be better man. He's been awful lately," one fan wrote. They certainly aren't wrong, and it's not great that Iowa isn't able to rely on who was supposed to be their leading scorer.

Someone else responded, "Back to mid. Time is a flat circle." That said, it was nice to see an Illinois fan pay their respect, "This was a good game. Iowa really battled back. Well-coached team that will still win a lot of games in Big Ten."

Ben with the opportunity to win a quad 1 game pic.twitter.com/EgRpBnkiTU
— 🌹 (@kyle4heisman) January 11, 2026

"Still no quad 1 wins... tournament hopes are slowly fading," someone noted. Iowa knows they won't be ranked this week, but they are going to need to win one of these games at some point for their resume.

One fan still has hope, "Just need a few tune ups and get healthy. We’re almost there," but that can't be said about everyone, "Mickey mouse team."

Bennett Stirtz against any team with a pulse pic.twitter.com/BoH7Yu68EH
— I’m the Biggest Bird (@Durty_Burty) January 11, 2026

"Good fight. Gotta find a way to be better in the first 8 minutes Ben!" one fan proclaimed. That led to this response, "Must not have concentrated hard enough," which is a shot at McCollum's remarks during the game.

Another added, "Ben finding out they're not playing Evansville twice a year anymore," as someone urged Iowa's head coach to "Bench stirtz."

Stirtz has gotta be the most over hyped, over rated, mid major merchant I have ever seen
— Jordan (@jbirdjman) January 11, 2026

"5-17. 2-8. Doesn’t include the horrific defensive possessions he had. Just not good," one fan pointed out. At this point, most of the fanbase is starting to lose hope as someone commented, "I've seen this before once Big 10 play begins."

No matter how Iowa looked against the likes of Western Michigan, Bucknell, and UMass Lowell, those teams were far from what they needed to follow up on the Iowa State loss. This season is still far from over, but fans are starting to get a bit hopeless, and rightfully so.

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