Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (14) takes a hard fall during a basketball game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers Feb. 17, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa Remains Bubble Team After Wisconsin Loss

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Feb 23, 2026 10:49 AM ET

With just four games remaining, the Iowa Hawkeyes have their work cut out for them.

They currently sit at 19-8 (9-7) but are tasked with playing a pair of Top 10 teams to end the year.

In the meantime, they'll have to deal with Ohio State and Penn State. Both are winnable games, but the Buckeyes just beat the same Wisconsin team Iowa fell to, 84-71.

Iowa getting to host OSU is a big deal as they'd much rather play the Buckeyes at home and head play on the road against a struggling Nittany Lions team. That said, nothing is a guarantee in the B1G and Iowa needs to take care of business.

Iowa Must Defeat Ohio State and Penn State

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20-win teams often make the tournament, but the only signature win on Iowa's resume was against No. 9 Nebraska. Knowing they have to play at the Cornhuskers on March 8, Nebraska may have a receipt waiting for them.

Iowa knocking off No. 1 Michigan at home would guarantee them a spot in the tournament, but their loss to Wisconsin pushed the Badgers into "lock" territory, according to ESPN.

The Hawkeyes vs. Badgers game was a "win and in" type scenario, but now Iowa is stuck fighting for their lives. They've dropped three of their last four, though two of those were to ranked opponents which should go a long way. At the end of the day, it's not like they have a ton of quad wins and they're just 1-6 against ranked opponents.

Iowa Didn't Come All This Way For Nothing

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First year head coach Ben McCollum was on cloud nine when this squad started 7-0. They later increased that record to 12-2 before dropping three straight. That losing streak could've derailed their entire season, but they turned around and won six consecutive games.

All of that said, it's not like Iowa has been beating the nation's top teams. Yes, the B1G is a gauntlet, but Iowa beating the teams they're supposed to isn't going to get them too far come tournament time.

Bennett Stirtz doesn't have much of a supporting cast and that's been a glaring issue. He's had to lead this team in scoring for nine straight games. In fact, he's led them in 14 of their last 15 and top teams continue to find ways to shut down Iowa's offense. Stirtz can only do so much, but at this point he has to dig deeper than he ever has before to make sure Iowa makes the NCAA Tournament.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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