How Iowa men’s basketball is determined to surpass its close games

IOWA CITY — The determination of Iowa men’s basketball hasn’t been doubted at any point. There hasn’t been a need to feel like the Hawkeyes aren’t pouring themselves into each game.

Not convinced? Ask Tavion Banks.

The senior was questionable against now-No. 13 Illinois on Sunday. He’d been sick for a few days and lost some weight, according to head coach Ben McCollum, and that Banks wasn’t the only player to be less than 100-percent themselves. Not that McCollum was willing to make any excuses.

The Hawkeye head coach opted for center Alvaro Folgeuiras to start his first game in an Iowa jersey. For a while, Folgeuiras was Iowa’s only bright spot — finishing the game with eight points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.

Banks came off the bench for Iowa, and despite the illness, he led Iowa with 16 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action.

“He came to practice yesterday, and, didn't look very good,” McCollum said following the 75-69 loss to Illinois. “So I’m like, ‘we’ll see. We need you for Purdue, for sure.’”

Banks went as far as completely laying out — for the third home game in-a-row — to try and secure a loose ball. It worked against Illinois, and Banks got the ball to guard Bennett Stirtz for a fast break layup.

“I saw he was pretty good,” McCollum said. “He dove on that ball at halfcourt, and I was like, OK, let’s go now.”

McCollum held Banks to the same expectation he would’ve held the senior if Banks was healthy. Granted, Banks played that level and McCollum said Banks was throwing up after the game — but fans probably wouldn’t have known he was sick had McCollum not revealed it postgame.

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No. 19 Iowa men’s basketball falls to No. 16 Illinois, 75-69.

Now heading into a two-game stretch in the Hoosier State, the Hawkeyes are poised to face No. 5 Purdue and Indiana. It’s one of the tougher weeks Iowa basketball will face in its debut season under McCollum, sitting in the mix of Big Ten play while Iowa is still learning about avoiding foul trouble, how the offense should flow and navigating a height difference in the stature of each player across the league, among a litany of other things.

“We’re going to have to figure it out,” Stirtz said, particularly around back-to-back games with slow offensive momentum. “I don't know why we're getting down so much. We gotta change something, because something's not working.”

Is it simple? No. That’s why McCollum has never been afraid to call out his players if they make a mistake or worry if it’ll strike a player’s confidence.

“I don’t really care about that,” he said. “If he’s got confidence issues, he shouldn’t be playing in the Big Ten.”

Iowa’s knocked at the door of a ranked win twice now, once against No. 3 Iowa State and the other against Illinois, and both times the Hawkeyes have come up short. Despite the sluggish start against Minnesota, Iowa proved it can erase road deficits — even if it lost that game, too.

This is a basketball team that’s made it clear: there’s no moral victories in losses. They’ve always been a competitive group, and it’s why McCollum has gone as far as he has in his career.

A close loss, even with positive efforts like Banks’ perseverance sprinkled in, still isn’t a win. That’s what McCollum is looking for, both on the road in Indiana and beyond.

“It can be a building block, but I just think that you have to win these games,” McCollum said. “If you fall in love with being close, you never get to the top ... it’s time to be able to win this game.”

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