Iowa Hawkeyes Lose 20 Games for First Time in 108 Seasons

Basketball started at Iowa in 1902. Over that 108-year span, the team had never lost 20 games in a season...until now.

For the first time in the history of University of Iowa basketball, the men's team recorded 20 losses in a season.

In a game on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers, Iowa achieved its record setting loss.

On Senior Night, the Badgers beat up on the Hawkeyes in every aspect of the game, winning 67-40.

Iowa shot 6-21 from the floor, and 1-9 from behind the three-point line. The team had eight turnovers to only two assists. Only one player, Aaron Fuller, scored in double digits.

Iowa's point total for the game (40) also tied a historic low, a record the team just set three weeks ago against Purdue.

"It isn't any fun being part of something like that," Iowa guard Matt Gatens told reporters after the game. His feelings are understandable, but that isn't what people want to hear from one of the team's best players when nine others have decided to take their game elsewhere over the last three years.

"We just panicked," Iowa coach Todd Lickliter said. "When you panic against Wisconsin, you’re in big trouble." 

What better way to describe this game: a 40-minute panic attack.

As Hawkeye Nation points out, it was the third straight road game where Iowa failed to score more than 19 points in the first half. In the last three road games, Iowa has trailed by at least 19 points at halftime, only scoring 15, 19, and 16 points in the first half of each game.

The loss was Iowa's 18th straight against a ranked opponent.

If this reads like a eulogy for someone that just died from a long illness, that's what it feels like I am writing.

Fans are depressed and have lost all hope. As a result, home attendance is at an all-time low, which is ironic considering that the Iowa women's volleyball team just set an attendance record high.

Local Iowa sports writers see the vultures circling and are now writing five-part series on the decline of the program.

Making matters even worse, former head coach Steve Alford, who coached at Iowa for eight years before taking another job offer, just won a conference title and has the New Mexico Lobos at No. 10 in the nation.

Maybe the worst side effect of all, the Big Ten Network didn't even bother showing a Barbasol commercial last night during the game, a sign the network didn't want to waste its premium sponsor's air time.

The Hawkeyes complete their regular season on Sunday against the Minnesota Gophers.

The team will try to end the season with a win.

Hopefully a win will help win back the hearts of Barbasol executives, too.