It was an emotional night in Indianapolis for the Hawkeyes inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
In its second-round game of the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, Iowa head basketball coach Fran McCaffery received double technicals and was ejected with 13:33 remaining in the second half and the 15th-seeded Hawkeyes trailing No. 7 seed Illinois, 69-60.
Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis proceeded to knock down all four free throws to give the Illini a double-figure lead. Iowa never really responded from that point forward.
In a game that Iowa needed to win to keep its dream of the NCAA Tournament alive, the Hawkeyes instead found themselves on the wrong end of it. Illinois (21-11, 12-8 Big Ten) dispatched of Iowa (17-16, 7-13 Big Ten), 106-94.
It wasn’t without an extraordinary effort from Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort, though. The 6-foot-8 forward erupted for 30 points on 11-for-20 shooting, including 8-for-13 3-point shooting. As Sandfort was subbed out with 1:01 remaining, Sandfort broke down into tears as he embraced Iowa assistant coach Sherman Dillard.
Each of those two moments generated a tidal wave of reaction across social media. Here’s how Iowa basketball fans and the sports world took in McCaffery’s ejection and then Sandfort’s emotional exit.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa basketball fans react to McCaffery ejection, Payton Sandfort exit
