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Social Media Reacts To UCLA's Failed Comeback Bid

UCLA tried to comeback against Iowa, ended up failing, and drew many reactions from social media.
Nathan Berry|
Jan 3, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; UCLA Bruins center Xavier Booker (1) and Iowa Hawkeyes forward Cam Manyawu (3) battle for the opening tipoff during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Jan 3, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; UCLA Bruins center Xavier Booker (1) and Iowa Hawkeyes forward Cam Manyawu (3) battle for the opening tipoff during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

UCLA had one of their biggest games of the year to play against the #25 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes, and the Bruin faithful slowly but surely were turning their eyes to the game come tipoff, which went in the Bruins favor.

The game started off in a way that no Bruin fan would want to see, with UCLA trailing by six points after five minutes of play.

While they could point out the team's issues, which they were reasonably not happy with, Bruin's fans could only watch as their team continued to play and hope that adjustments would come soon.

Another five minutes of play saw nothing but good shots taken by UCLA, with none of them going in as the Bruins only attained one point off of a free throw.

The Hawkeyes lead was growing as the Bruins missed shot after shot, and that of course enraged viewers on both sides, regardless of favor for one team the other.

Things continued to go downhill for UCLA against the Hawkeyes, as shots refused to go their way while going in for Iowa every other possesion.

The lead grew and grew, reaching past a 20 point deficit by the time their was three minutes left in the first half.

Blame began to spread past the players and onto the head coach, as Bruins fans were becoming increasingly frustrated with Mick Cronin and his choices before the 2025 season started.

The end of the half was when UCLA was finally starting to heat up, if only a by a small margin, and the score going into the locker room was 40-22.

Journalists began posting quickly about the score, and the most optimistic of the crowd was Aaron Heisan, who liked what he saw from the Bruins just before the half ended.

UCLA started to show more fire in the second half four minutes deep when Donavan Dent was able to find a quick layup, pull off a steal seconds later, and allow one of his teammates to dunk for an easy four total points.

The Bruins used that momentum to start their first run against the Hawkeyes of the game, and they were able to begin cutting the lead bit by bit, which was good to see for Bruin fans.

Momentum began to snowball in UCLA's favor in the second half, with the lead that the Hawkeyes had diminishing slowly but surely over the next few minutes.

With just under 10 minutes left in the game the Bruins had cut the lead to seven points, which was not the most desirable but certainly better than the 18 the team was down coming out of the half.

With five minutes left to go UCLA was staying in the game, the score being 51-57, and Tyler Bilodeau was given two free throws.

Being one of the best free throw shooters in the Big Ten, Bilodeau knocked down both shots and all of a sudden it was 53-57, and Bruins fans could see a light at the end of the tunnel, but they still weren't happy, both with the team and the officials.

Unfortunately, the Bruins saw their comeback bid slip away in the final few minutes, as their deficit began growing once more.

The game ended 74-61, and UCLA fans were not happy with the result, furious not necessarily at their own team but at the referees who had called many fouls on the Bruins in the final minutes, and some fans were already starting to look towards the rest of the season.

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Nathan Berry
NATHAN BERRY