Huskies Men’s Basketball Crumbles in Second Half, Falls to Iowa at Home
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Washington Huskies forward Hannes Steinbach walks off the court after a substitution at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Nebraska on Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2026. Credit: Washington Athletics [/caption]
Following an excellent first half, the University of Washington men’s basketball team crumbled in the second half, falling 84-74 to Iowa on Wednesday, Feb. 4, at Alaska Airlines Arena.
The Huskies (12-11) dropped to 2-5 in their last seven games, all of which have been critical Big Ten contests. Iowa (17-5) won its fifth straight game with a vicious comeback against UW.
UW has an uphill battle in the conference standings, currently sitting at 4-8 in league games (T-12th). It was emblematic of the Huskies’ up-and-down season with the tale of two halves.
Here’s what we learned from the Huskies’ loss to the Hawkeyes on Wednesday.
Diallo’s first half
The Huskies finished the opening period on an 11-1 run, with three players scoring in double figures. But even with that scoring output, and a 48-41 lead at the break for UW, it was Zoom Diallo that stood out.
Diallo totaled nine points, 10 assists and three rebounds in the first half alone. The Huskies had just 11 total assists as a team at the half. The sophomore guard mixed his regular aggressive offensive play with efficient distribution of the basketball, helping UW seize the early lead.
Overall, UW shot 20 of 26 (77%) from the field in a stellar offensive stretch. That included making 6 of 8 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc. Perhaps the biggest outlier of the first half that emerged: The Hawkeyes had just four rebounds.
Wesley Yates III scored 12 points, while Hannes Steinbach and Bryson Tucker (both with 10 points) led the Huskies in scoring.
It was the bench that shone for Iowa, accounting for 23 of its 41 first-half points. Bennett Stirtz, the Hawkeyes’ leading scorer by a long shot, had nine points and four assists.
Second half crumble
Iowa roared back with a 22-8 run to begin the second half. The Huskies’ once-hot offense converted just 2 of 9 attempts during the first seven minutes of the period.
Iowa’s Alvaro Folgueiras continued his strong game off the bench, finishing with 16 points. Stirtz found his groove, providing a burst to the Hawkeyes’ offense in the second half and totaling 22 points.
The Hawkeyes took their biggest lead of the game, 78-68, with four minutes remaining in the game. Tucker, Diallo and Yates’ offensive output slowed in the latter period, which hurt the Huskies massively.
After previously looking on pace to destroy a typically stout Iowa offense, the Huskies simply couldn’t generate any consistent output. The Hawkeyes have given up a Big Ten-best 63 points per game, and UW was on pace for 96 at the break. They didn’t get near that number by the end.
UW shot just 46% from the field in the second half, dropping more than 30% from the opening period figure. It wasn’t surprising from Iowa’s defense, but it was disappointing from a Huskies squad that has lacked depth due to injuries.
Diallo, who finished with 16 points and 12 assists for the Huskies, also had six turnovers. That was a massive hit to UW as they tried to get back in the game against a quality conference opponent.
Steinbach finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, continuing his incredible freshman season. But it still wasn’t enough to fend off the resurgent Hawkeyes.
Up Next
If the Huskies want to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive, they will especially want to beat UCLA (16-7, 8-4 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 7.
UW’s schedule eases up a bit after that, with games at Penn State (10-12, 1-10 Big Ten), Minnesota (11-12, 4-8), Maryland (8-13, 1-9) and Rutgers (9-14, 2-10). A win against UCLA could be the start of a run.
