Iowa
Oklahoma 96, Iowa 62: OUtmuscled
Oklahoma 96, Iowa 62: OUtmuscled
NORMAN — Sixth-seeded Iowa fell in the round of 32 on Monday, losing 96-62 to third-seeded Oklahoma in Norman to close the 2024-25 season. In what was a physical contest from the tip, the Sooners were the aggressor against the Hawkeyes.
Oklahoma’s size, strength and speed were simply too much for Iowa, who didn’t have the physical prowess to matchup with the Sooners. OU not only out-rebounded Iowa, 64-33, but the Hawkeyes couldn’t match Oklahoma’s shooting. OU shot 33-of-81 (40.7%) from the floor and 19-of-27 from the free throw line to Iowa’s 24-of-66 (36.3%) from the field and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from the free throw line.
“They’re really good. They’re athletes. They hit the portal hard,” head coach Jan Jensen said following the loss. “They’re bigger, faster, stronger. I told you yesterday the degree of difficulty to guard all that.”
The rebounding margin was the strongest indicator of the difference between the two teams.
“I think going into the game, that was definitely something we knew was going to be a key. They definitely got a majority of the second-chance points. That was from the rebounds,” said Kylie Feuerbach, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds. “They did a great job at positioning. We probably could have done a little better. But we knew going into the game their box-outs and rebounds would be really important.”
Sydney Affolter, Iowa’s leading rebounder against OU with nine, added that the game was more physical than the Hawkeyes were used to.
“The refs definitely let us play,” she said. “They have some big girls, big posts and big guards all around. We could have done a lot better on the boards. I thought we did a little bit better in the second half. They crashed pretty hard.”
“We knew going in that SEC teams are really physical — a lot more than the Big Ten,” starting center Hannah Stuelke said. “They’re just an amazing rebounding team. That’s something they hang their hat on.”
The boards weren’t the only place the Hawkeyes had a disadvantage.
Though it certainly wasn’t all at the hands of the officials, — and no one on Iowa’s roster will tell you it was — Stuelke and the Hawkeyes definitely didn’t benefit from the officiating on Monday evening.
The most glaring call came in the beginning of the second half, when Stuelke made a reverse layup and inadvertently made contact with Raegan Beers‘ face with her off hand. The officials went to the monitor and handed Stuelke an “intentional foul” that not only gave the Sooners two free throws (which were made by Payton Verhulst, who finished with 16 points) and the possession, but shifted momentum heavily in the favor of OU.
“It was an accident,” Stuelke said after the game. “I have no control over that, so I don’t know. I’ve never been called for an intentional before. That was my first one. I elbowed her in the face on accident.”
Stuelke added that the officials didn’t explain the reasoning for the call to her. Jensen was disappointed with the decision by the officials for several reasons.
“I didn’t have a chance to see it,” she said. “I just asked some unbiased people at the scorer’s table, and I don’t know if they were NCAA [officials], one was an Oklahoma [official]. I said, ‘What’s your gut on that?’ They were like ‘We’re a little surprised it got upgraded.’ … I think our players were pretty frustrated. I was trying to calm them down, but I thought that was a big swing in the game.”
OU shot 20 more free throws than the Hawkeyes, who shot a total of 11 between Monday night’s game and their matchup with Murray State on Saturday.
“Oklahoma, they’re going to win. When it’s called like that — and it was not why we lost the game; let that be clear — but 27 to seven,” Jensen said. “So I think that’s part of it. I don’t think we thought about it much at the time. I don’t think the players did. I think we were really hitting. I don’t think you can really — without some bigs, really big bodies, you can’t really slow or stop Oklahoma. You’ve got to score with them.”
Looking into the future of the Iowa roster, though they won’t be able to control the problems with officiating, Jensen plans to adjust and address the issues that faced them against the Sooners.
“I think it has to be a change now,” Jensen said. “I think we have a lot of great pieces, but they’re young. … I love our pieces. I think we can develop them, and that will always be my model. We’re graduating Syd and we don’t have a lot of depth at the one. We have Aaliyah Guyton. Addie Deal plays off the ball and on. You’re going to look and see what we need.”
The transfer portal opens tomorrow.
“We’ll be really busy,” Jensen added. “I love the pieces we have coming back, I just think we need a little more size. You saw them — Beers changes the game. Then you’ve got 24 [Skylar Vann], 34 [Liz Scott], 0 [Beatrice Culliton] who are all big bodies, and then you add Sahara Williams. We’ll look in the portal.”
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Wednesday night felt like deja vu for the Iowa basketball team—and not the good kind.
They led for most of the game on the road against a top-five team for the second time this season. And just like last month’s loss to Iowa State in Ames, the Hawkeyes didn’t execute enough down the stretch in West Lafayette to take down fifth-ranked Purdue on Wednesday.
Iowa gave the Boilermakers a great game, but they didn’t have enough firepower to pull the upset, ultimately falling 79-72. It’s the third loss in a row for Ben McCollum’s team, which is now 2-4 in Big Ten play and looking for answers. There were several things to like about Wednesday’s game, despite the loss, and there are several areas that need improvement. Here are the biggest takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ tight road loss to Purdue.
Kael Combs shone again
Kael Combs has been a bright development recently, despite the three-game skid. After only scoring in double figures once in Iowa’s first 11 games, Combs has now reached that mark in three of the last six games. He poured in a career-high 16 points against the Boilermakers on 6-9 shooting from the field. The junior guard also added five rebounds and two assists as well.
Combs has firmly established himself as the other starting guard on this roster, alongside Bennett Stirtz. He’s made some clutch shots, plays solid defense, and usually makes the right play with the ball. He’s quickly turning into one of McCollum’s most trusted players on the roster and should only see more minutes from here on out.
Crucial turnovers kill momentum
Iowa had a 50-45 lead at the under-12 timeout in the second half. Purdue had cut into the lead a bit, but the Hawkeyes were still in control and had the Mackey Arena crowd quieter than usual. That’s when the momentum completely changed. Out of that timeout, the Hawkeyes would turn it over on four of their next five possessions, allowing the Boilermakers to go on a 10-2 run to take their first lead since the 4:56 mark of the first half.
In just a few minutes of play, the crowd came back to life, and Purdue started to believe again. While the Hawkeyes would go back and forth for a while, they ran out of gas at the end and came up just short. Those turnovers killed all of Iowa’s momentum and shifted the tenor of the game drastically. Iowa had 13 total turnovers on the day, leading to 16 Purdue points. The Hawkeyes need to clean up that area of their game if they want to finish off some of these upsets going forward.
Saturday is a must-win game
With this loss, Iowa is now 2-4 in Big Ten play and losers of three conference games in a row. They’ve been close in each one, but moral victories don’t count in the standings. As it currently stands, Iowa is tied for 13th in the Big Ten and only two games up on last-place Maryland. While there’s still plenty of games left, a 2-5 start in conference play would put a ton of pressure on Iowa if it wants to make the NCAA Tournament.
That’s why this Saturday’s game at Indiana is a must-win for McCollum’s bunch. The Hoosiers are good, sitting at 12-5 overall and 3-3 in the Big Ten. But they’re not whirl-beaters. This game will be there for the taking, and Iowa needs to get some momentum rolling into a softer portion of its schedule in late January. That starts in Bloomington on Saturday. We’re going to learn a lot about this team here very soon.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes and opinions. Follow Zach on X: @zach_hiney
DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) – The Iowa State Fair announced two more Grandstand acts Wednesday for its 2026 season.
Country-rock artist HARDY will kick off opening night on August 13. He will take the stage with special guest McCoy Moore starting at 8 p.m.
Then on closing night, Breakout Christian artist Josiah Queen will perform with special guest Ben Fuller. The state fair says the show will be a “family-friendly finale,” starting at 6 p.m. August 23.
Tickets can be purchased starting at 10 a.m. Friday on the State Fair’s website. HARDY tickets start at $54.40, and Josiah Queen tickets start at $19.40.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.
Where to find hidden gem restaurants in Des Moines
Des Moines features its share of hidden gem restaurants beloved for their local ownership, friendly ambiance and great food.
From a restored 1914 general store serving reinvented American classics to a nationally revered small-town pizza spot to an authentic mom-and-pop Korean restaurant. Whether you are craving carefully crafted concepts to hole in walls, consider this your guide for planning weeknight dinners, date nights, or after-work fare across the Iowa City corridor.
Káva House & Café
Káva House & Café is located in downtown Swisher in a restored 1914 general store. A longtime staple, the restaurant might be best known for its fine coffees, but it is also a full-service restaurant with breakfast, lunch and dinner options. The menu reinvents American deli standards, including Otto’s old-fashioned meat loaf hot sandwich and a variety of loose meat sandwiches
Details: 122 Second St. S.W., Swisher, 319-857-5000, kavahousecafe.com
Price range: $10 to $20
Ramen Belly
Ramen Belly is tucked away in the Peninsula Neighborhood in Iowa City. In 2023, the restaurant was named to Yelp’s Top 100 Restaurants in the Midwest. While ramen is in the restaurant name, the spot offers a wide variety of Japanese cuisine, from poke bowls to donburi, dumplings and short ribs.
Details: 1010 Martin St., Iowa City, 319-569-1057, or ramenbelly.co
Price range: $10 to $20
I Love Fufu
I Love Fufu opened in 2022 and has been serving African and Caribbean specialty dishes, such as jollof rice, the popular West African soup egusi, and oxtail. Fufu is a must-try, a staple in many West African countries, made by boiling starchy vegetables such as cassava, yams or plantains, then pounding them into a smooth, elastic dough. Fufu is typically served as an accompaniment to soups, stews and sauces, allowing diners to scoop up and savor the rich flavors of each dish.
Details: 230 E. Benton St., Iowa City, 319-499-8189, ilovefufuiowacity.com
Price range: $10 to $20
Lincoln Winebar
Lincoln Winebar is nationally acclaimed to have the best pizza in Iowa, according to the New York Times and 50toppizza.it. Lincoln Winebar leans into local ingredients, from toppings like asparagus and hot honey sourced from local farms, to bring a fresh influence to the Italian classic. From seasonal pizza varieties to mainstay classics like pepperoni and sausage, to locally grown oyster mushrooms, a Margherita, and brie and Gorgonzola, this small-town spot has big energy.
Details: 125 First St. W., Mount Vernon, 319-471-0959, or foodisimportant.com
Price range: $20 to $30
Le Gourmet
Located in the Old Capitol Mall, Le Gourmet is a traditional Korean restaurant that can be easy to miss but is a must-try. It offers a variety of Korean soups and noodle dishes, along with popular Korean street food like tteok-bokki, chewy rice cakes stir-fried in a spicy, sweet, savory sauce, or gimbap, similar to hand-rolled sushi but with different preparation techniques. The restaurant also offers formal dining options like broiled eel and L.A. galbi, inviting diners to try something new.
Details: 201 S. Clinton St. Suite 173, Iowa City, 319-471-0959, or legourmettogo.com
Price range: $10 to $20
La Regia Taqueria
La Regia specializes in street tacos, as well as burritos and quesadillas. Located on the west side of town, La Regia offers a multitude of options, from carne asada to birria, and more adventurous meat options like lengua (cow tongue) and tripe (cow stomach), one of the few places where these meat varieties can be found in the Iowa City corridor. The restaurant also has an expansive menu for non-meat eaters, from fried fish tacos to veggie sope.
Details: 436 Hwy. 1 W., Iowa City, 319-341-8226, or laregia.com
Price range: $10 to $20
Jessica Rish is an entertainment, dining and education reporter for the Iowa City Press-Citizen. She can be reached at JRish@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rishjessica_
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