Iowa basketball fans react to Hawkeyes' loss vs Purdue

In Iowa basketball's (18-7, 8-6 Big Ten) first sell-out at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in two seasons on Saturday, many of the 15,000 fans in attendance left the arena displeased as the Hawkeyes had one of their most disappointing efforts of the season en route to a brutal 78-57 loss against No. 12 Purdue (21-4, 11-3 Big Ten).

While the highly-efficient Purdue offense and Boilermakers' size in the paint were going to be a challenge for Iowa regardless, Hawkeye fans collectively voiced their grievances about the team's efforts on social media during and after the game.

There a 5 really good teams in the Big 10, Iowa is not one of them. They are a good team but the lack of size is killing them— Danksaxman (@irishiowaguy) February 14, 2026

https://t.co/iMoSnkNNhvpic.twitter.com/w8dU1o5LC3— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) February 14, 2026

So Purdue is on offense here.

And they committed two fouls on this play.

🤦🏻‍♂️ https://t.co/dUSXn6vlHp— James Pruch (@jamespruch) February 15, 2026

I see two hook and holds on Purdue which should = four free throws and two consecutive out of bounds plays for Iowa.
Am I wrong?— ScottOtto (@ottotragen) February 15, 2026

Tavion Banks is absolutely awful around the rim— Sam (@sammmidd) February 14, 2026

Damn Iowa, you’re looking just awful.— Kim 🇵🇸 IF YOU HATE ON CC YOU CAN 🖕🏼. (@luvmanowar) February 14, 2026

Just got home and looked at the Iowa score.... pic.twitter.com/p1R19eqM28— 𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓭™ (@hawkeyeinmd) February 15, 2026

Iowa against Purdue currently: pic.twitter.com/SfHhhr5SkF— PATRICK⭐️ (@TrickyFever22) February 14, 2026

pic.twitter.com/m4frCSHtrm— Hawkeye Enjoyer 🐤 (@HawkGuyEnjoyer) February 14, 2026

Watching the 2nd half pic.twitter.com/yCfE5FfTO7— Grant (@BigTenGrant) February 14, 2026

Embarrassing— Barstool Iowa (@BarstoolUIowa) February 14, 2026

Been saying for the past few weeks these slow starts to games/halves is gonna catch up to them against a good team. It’s happening today. Need to fix it against Nebraska because they can shoot the lights out.— Ray Ortega (@RayJOrtega) February 14, 2026

Just an all-around disaster tonight for Iowa. No execution defensively and can’t make anything on offense.— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) February 14, 2026

I just hate that this was the first sold out game for Coach and this was the result. Purdue was shooting lights out and they have the size to get those crucial rebounds. Hawks are a solid team for being a first year head coach under the helm. Keep your chin up and keep fighting— OnIowaGoHawkeyes (@OHawkeyes) February 15, 2026

Don’t expect another sell out anytime soon.— ruben_theiowan (@IAcitynative) February 15, 2026

That felt like a Lickliter-era loss.— Ben Schuff (@BRSchuff) February 15, 2026

Student section on Tuesday pic.twitter.com/r3f21c8HT3— Biased Bettor Dudley (@B_BettorDudley) February 15, 2026

Can’t believe Iowa followed their worst loss of the season with this kind of performance in front of this many people. Inexplicable mistakes for a Ben McCollum team.— Chris Hassel (@Hassel_Chris) February 14, 2026

This was a golden opportunity for Iowa to capitalize on the program's momentum and create a signature moment in front of the first sold-out crowd of the Ben McCollum era. Instead, it turned into a nightmare performance by Iowa.— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) February 14, 2026

Iowa still has a lot of opportunity ahead of it, and is in a solid position NCAA Tournament-wise, but man, things need to turn in a positive direction fast after these last two losses.

This feels like an extremely pivotal point in the season with the difficult stretch upcoming— Sean Bock (@SBock247) February 15, 2026

Postgame thoughts after Iowa’s blowout loss to Purdue ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AIxE69jEsL— Brad Schultz (@BradMSchultz) February 15, 2026

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball fans react to Hawkeyes' loss vs Purdue