Iowa basketball's Payton Sandfort was overcome with emotions after being subbed out in the final minute of Thursday's loss in the Big Ten Tournament.

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.

Payton Sandfort is a warrior. The Iowa senior left it all on the floor on Thursday night as Iowa fell in the Big Ten Tournament to Illinois. The raw emotions poured out of the in-state standout following the loss on the court and continued in the locker room.

Illinois basketball head coach Brad Underwood was quick to praise Sandfort for his efforts, and for what he's done as a four-year player for the Hawkeyes. "So much respect for Pay

It’s just a game. Payton Sandfort tells himself these words. Or at least, he tries to. His grandfather always repeated the mantra. His father echoes the message whenever he can. But sometimes the message reverberates like a dribble on a barren court amid an empty arena  — hollow.

Payton Sandfort's Iowa men's basketball legacy? Someone who chose the Hawkeyes — and stuck with Iowa — when he had so many reasons to do otherwise.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Kylan Boswell scored a career-high 24 points and four other Illinois players finished in double digits as the 24th-ranked Fighting Illini beat 15th-seeded Iowa 106-94 in a wild second-round Big Ten Tournament game on Thursday night.

Payton Sandfort’s final season with Iowa men’s basketball “hasn’t been what I dreamed of,” but he takes pride in his continued fight.

Ahead of Senior Night against Michigan State, Payton Sandfort discussed the trials of this season, including receiving death threats.