Coming off a frustrating road loss to Minnesota on Tuesday, No. 19 Iowa returned home to the friendly confines of Carver-Hawkeye Arena looking to get back on track.
Instead, they ran into the buzzsaw that is No. 16 Illinois and never led in a 75-69 loss to the Fighting Illini. The Hawkeyes spent most of the afternoon trying to come back after digging themselves into an early 18-point hole. The comeback effort came up short, as Iowa didn’t execute enough on both sides of the court late to come away with a win.
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The loss drops Iowa to 12-4 overall and 2-3 in Big Ten play. While there were some positive signs in this game for Ben McCollum’s team, there were also some big issues that could derail any hopes of an NCAA Tournament appearance or run in March.
Here are the biggest takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ home defeat to Illinois:
Tavion Banks battled
Iowa’s Tavion Banks (6) reacts after being called for a foul during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini Jan. 11, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
The best Hawkeye on the court Sunday by a mile was Tavion Banks, which is surprising considering his status for this game was in serious doubt Sunday morning. Banks was questionable for this game and wasn’t in the starting lineup like he usually is.
Afterwards, Iowa head coach Ben McCollum revealed that Banks has been sick and that the 6-foot-7 forward had lost 10 pounds in the past few days.
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Banks finished with a team-leading 16 points off the bench on 8-of-14 shooting. He filled up the stat sheet, adding seven rebounds, five assists, and two steals as well. The senior forward changed the game when he entered and gave Iowa a dose of energy it desperately needed after a tough start. Despite the result, this is a game and performance that Banks can build off of going forward.
Iowa basketball never gave up
Iowa forward Cooper Koch (8) looks to pass the basketball against Illinois forward David Mirkovic (0) Jan. 11, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
You couldn’t script a worse start to this game if you were the Hawkeyes. They fell behind 21-5 at the under-12 timeout and eventually trailed 29-11 before they started chipping into the lead. Iowa got it down to 11 at halftime and seemed to be gaining some serious momentum. That continued into the late portions of the second half, as Iowa trimmed the deficit down to four points on numerous possessions, only for Illinois to have a response every time.
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Even though the Hawkeyes weren’t able to complete the comeback effort and win the game, they showed a lot of heart and guts in the second half. McCollum’s team could’ve easily folded after the bad start and rolled over, but they didn’t. They made Illinois earn this victory the hard way. Eventually, this effort will pay off with an exciting comeback win for the Hawkeyes. It’s just unfortunate they couldn’t get that result Sunday.
Missed opportunities proved costly late
Jan 11, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) shoots the ball as Illinois Fighting Illini center Zvonimir Ivisic (44) defends during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Iowa started this game deep in the hole, and yet somehow, they had a chance late to steal a win. Some missed opportunities late in the second half prevented the Hawkeyes from doing just that.
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With just over six minutes left in the second half, Iowa had swung the momentum and was down five when they forced a turnover and had a 2-on-1 break. Kael Combs lobbed it up to Tavion Banks for a thunderous slam that would take the roof off the place. Except the ball bounced off the back rim and out. Iowa came up empty on the possession, and Illinois would drain a three-pointer a minute later to go back up by eight. A five-point swing that killed Iowa’s momentum.
And then, with 55 seconds left, Illinois was nabbed for a hook-and-hold flagrant foul, which gave Iowa two free throws and the ball. Tate Sage drilled both free throws to make it a four-point game, and after a few offensive rebounds, the Hawkeyes got the ball to Bennett Stirtz wide open at the rim for an uncontested routine layup.
Stirtz’s shot somehow rolled off the rim and out, and Illinois grabbed the board. That layup would’ve made it a two-point game with 37 seconds left and all the pressure on Illinois. Instead, they nailed a pair of free throws to essentially put the game away.
Iowa had so many chances late in the second half to pull off an insane comeback, but just couldn’t make the big play in the big moment. It’s frustrating, but the Hawkeyes are close.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Takeaways as Iowa basketball suffers tight home loss vs. Illinois
