Iowa spent most of the night in control at Mackey Arena, but No. 5 Purdue delivered a decisive late push to hand the Hawkeyes a 79-72 loss on January 14, 2026, extending Iowa’s skid to three games and keeping the Boilermakers unbeaten in Big Ten play.
Hawkeyes Set the Tone Early
The Hawkeyes arrived in West Lafayette intent on stopping a two-game slide and immediately looked the part. Tavion Banks, returning to form after battling illness in the previous loss to Illinois, drilled two three-pointers in the opening minute as Iowa raced to a 6-2 lead. The visitors were flawless out of the gate, opening 4-for-4 from the field and 3-for-3 from deep to build an early 11-6 advantage.
Balanced scoring fueled Iowa’s confidence. Kael Combs, Cooper Koch and Alvaro Folguieras all contributed as the Hawkeyes controlled tempo and led 21-16 midway through the first half. Purdue answered with an 8-2 run to briefly move in front, but the game settled into a tight, back-and-forth stretch.
Bennett Stirtz broke through with a three-pointer at the five-minute mark and followed it with a mid-range jumper, helping Iowa withstand Purdue’s pressure. Combs capped the half with a late three, sending Iowa into the break ahead 34-31 after shooting 55% overall and 70% from beyond the arc. Seven of the eight Hawkeyes who saw first-half minutes scored.
Head coach Ben McCollum later said his team “came out locked in,” noting Iowa’s focus and execution against one of the conference’s top programs.
Purdue Takes Control Down the Stretch
Iowa briefly threatened to pull away after halftime. A 10-0 burst, highlighted by transition buckets from Cam Manyawu, pushed the lead to 48-39 with 15 minutes remaining. Manyawu finished with 13 points, three rebounds and three steals, providing energy on both ends.
Purdue responded with urgency. An 11-2 run erased the deficit and tied the game at 50 as the atmosphere intensified with the Paint Crew’s return from winter break. Stirtz, slowed earlier by foul trouble, delivered in key moments, scoring a team-high 19 points on 5-of-6 shooting inside the arc while adding three rebounds and four assists. His and-one followed by a deep three gave Iowa a brief 58-57 edge with under eight minutes left.
That margin proved fleeting. Purdue guard Braden Smith, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, shook off a scoreless first half to pour in 16 points after the break, guiding the Boilermakers through a dominant closing stretch. Purdue connected on nine of its final 10 field-goal attempts, including a run of eight straight makes that created separation with three minutes remaining.
Turnovers and free throws tilted the outcome. Iowa committed 13 turnovers that turned into 16 Purdue points, while the Hawkeyes forced nine turnovers and scored eight points off them. At the line, Purdue went 19-for-22 compared to Iowa’s 6-for-10.
“We let them get too comfortable late,” McCollum said, pointing to ball security and missed chances in crunch time.
Combs finished with 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three, and added five rebounds. Banks scored nine points with three triples before fouling out late. Koch and Folguieras chipped in timely baskets, but Iowa could not slow Purdue’s closing efficiency.
Both teams shot 53% from the field, with Iowa hitting 48% from three and Purdue 43%, yet the final minutes belonged to the hosts. Iowa led for more than 22 minutes overall, compared to Purdue’s 12.
The loss drops Iowa to 12-5 overall and 2-4 in Big Ten play, while Purdue improves to 16-1 and 6-0 in conference action. It follows narrow defeats to Minnesota and Illinois, highlighting how slim the margins have been during Iowa’s longest losing streak under McCollum in several years.
Iowa will try to reset quickly on January 17 with a road trip to Bloomington to face Indiana. The Hoosiers have also dropped two straight against ranked opponents but feature four players averaging double figures, led by guard Lamar Wilkerson at 20.2 points per game.
With the conference race tightening, Iowa’s offensive output continues to give it a chance most nights. Finishing possessions, limiting mistakes and tightening late-game defense now loom as priorities as the Hawkeyes look to halt the slide before the season reaches its midpoint.
