MBB Notes: Xavier

 

OPPONENT	Xavier at Iowa
DATE	Friday, Nov. 14
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (14,998)
KICKOFF	7 p.m. (CT)
STREAM	FS1
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network

 

ON THE AIR
Radio: Games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Jon Swisher (play-by-play) and Bobby Hansen (color) on the call.  The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and includes portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.  The Hawkeye Radio Network includes a 60-minute pregame show.
TV: Friday’s game will be televised on FS1 with Jake Eisenberg  (play-by-play) and Nick Bahe (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes bring a 2-0 record into Friday’s game against Xavier with season-opening wins over Robert Morris and Western Illinois.
• Senior guard Bennett Stirtz finished with 24 points, seven assists (zero turnovers) and two steals in the win over Western Illinois. It was Stirtz’s 34th career 20-point contest.
• In two games, Stirtz is averaging 21.5 points, 6.5 assists and three steals per game with shooting splits of .619/.500/.917. 
• Head coach Ben McCollum became the third Iowa head coach to have his team reach the century mark in his Hawkeye debut, joining Ralph Miller (1965) and Lute Olson (1975).  Iowa scored 101 points against RMU.
• Amongst active players, Stirtz is the only player nationally ranked in the top 10 in points (1,661) and assists (445) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists.  
• Iowa is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and Coaches’ rankings in Week 2. The Hawkeyes are 39th in the AP poll and 40th in the Coaches’ poll.
• The Hawkeyes limited Western Illinois to 25 points and 27.3 percent shooting in the second half on Nov. 7.
• Iowa has 12 newcomers on its 14-player roster under first-year head coach McCollum. Six of the players followed McCollum to Iowa City from Drake where they posted a 31-4 record, won the MVC regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament.
• The Hawkeyes’ transfer portal class was ranked eighth nationally by 247Sports.
• Stirtz is a preseason All-American by CBS Sports, Field of 68, Jon Rothstein and Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and he’s on the Naismith, Oscar Robertson Trophy and NABC Division I National Player of the Year Watch List.

SCOUTING XAVIER
• The Musketeers bring a 2-1 record into Friday’s game against Iowa. Xavier had a four-point win over Marist (66-62) and a five-point win over Le Moyne (74-69) before loosing by 19 to Santa Clara (87-68) on Tuesday. All three games were played in Cincinnati.
• Xavier has three players averaging in double figures with Roddie Anderson III leading the way with 17 points per game. Tre Carroll averages 14.3 and Malik Messina-Moore averages 11.0.
• Anderson is fifth nationally, attempting 29 free throws in three games with 21 makes (seventh most).
• Anderson (29 points) and Carroll (21) points combined for 50 of Xavier’s 68 points against Santa Clara, making 14-of-28 field goals.  Anderson went 12-of-16 from the free throw line.
• The Musketeers are shooting just 36.9 percent from the floor and 36.2 percent from 3-point range.  Opponents are shooting 52.2 percent from the field.
• Xavier’s roster is 100 percent new as the Musketeers didn’t return any scholarship players. 
• The Musketeers were picked to finish eighth in the Big East Preseason Poll, ahead of DePaul, Butler and Seton Hall. 
• First-year head coach Richard Pitino went to Xavier following a four-year stint at New Mexico, an eight-year stop at Minnesota and one year at Florida International.

SERIES HISTORY
• Friday’s game is the fourth meeting in the all-time series.  The Hawkeyes lead the series, 2-1.
• The first ever meeting took place in Cincinnati in 1938.  It will be Xavier’s first road game in Iowa City.
• The last two-meetings have been played during in-season tournaments in the Virgin Islands and Bahamas.  
• Xavier won 83-76 in 2010 in the Paradise Jam and Iowa won 77-74 in overtime in the most recent meeting in 2013 at the Battle for Atlantis.
• The Hawkeyes are 44-37 against current members of the Big East Conference with the most recent win coming against Seton Hall in 2023 in San Diego.

LAST GAME: IOWA 101, ROBERT MORRIS 69
The Hawkeyes improved to 2-0 with a 77-58 victory over Western Illinois on Nov. 7 in Iowa City. Iowa led 41-33 at the break before limiting the Leathernecks to 25 points and .273 shooting in the second half.
• Bennett Stirtz paced the team with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting (4-of-7 3PT), seven assists and two steals (without committing a turnover), while playing all 40 minutes.
• Alvaro Folgueiras scored 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting to go along with five rebounds.  Eleven of his 13 points came in the first half.

RALPH, LUTE & MAC
Head coach Ben McCollum became the third Iowa coach to have his team score 100+ points in their Hawkeye debut, joining Ralph Miller (1965) and Lute Olson (1975).

NOTABLES
• The Hawkeyes have shot 50 percent or better from the field in all four halves this season, including a season-high 64 percent in the first half of the season opener.
• Iowa ranks 11th nationally in field goal percentage (.567) and 10th in effective field goal percentage (.655) through the first two contests.
• The Hawkeyes attempted 44 free throws (made 36) in the season-opening win over Robert Morris. Iowa is averaging 25.5 makes per game (15th-most nationally).
• Freshman Tate Sage scored a career-high eight points in 24 minutes against Western Illinois.  Iowa’s reserves outscored its WIU counterparts, 29-6, in the victory.
• Two players -- Cooper Koch and Isaia Howard -- made their first career starts in the opener against Robert Morris.
• The Hawkeyes have been projected to place seventh in the Big Ten by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and ninth by the USA Today Network.
• Assistant coach Luke Barnwell is in his first season on the coaching staff following a two-year stint at Texas Tech.  The Red Raiders advanced to the Elite Eight during the 2025-26 season.
• Director of basketball operations Kyle Denning is the lone holdover on Iowa’s staff. Denning is in his 11th season with the program and fourth in his current position.

IRON HAWK
Senior Bennett Stirtz has started all 105 games of his collegiate career. He has played 40 or more minutes 42 times, including once this season.
• He played all 40 minutes in 25 games last season at Drake.

BENNETT IN BLACK & GOLD
Senior Bennett Stirtz is one of two Hawkeyes to score in double figures in both games this season. He is averaging 21.5 points with a 61.9 field goal percentage, .500 3-point percentage and .917 free throw percentage.  He also is averaging 6.5 assists and three steals per game.
• Stirtz notched his first 20-point game of the season (34th of his career) in Iowa’s 77-58 victory over Western Illinois. He finished with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting with four 3-pointers and a 6-of-6 night from the free throw line. Stirtz also had seven assists without a turnover and had two steals.
• He finished with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting with six assists and four steals in his Hawkeye debut against Robert Morris. His 19-point output tied Aaron White for the most by a Hawkeye in their debut in the last 30 seasons.
• He has been in double figures in 11 straight games dating back to last season at Drake.

ALVARO STEPS UP
Junior Alvaro Folgueiras has been in double digits in his first two game as a Hawkeye where he is averaging 12 points, a team-high five rebounds and four assists in a reserve role. The Spainard is shooting 75 percent (9-of-12) and 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from 3-point range.
• Along with leading the team in rebounding, Folgueiras is second on the team in scoring and assists.
• Folgueiras had 11 points and five rebounds in his debut before finishing with 13 points and five rebounds in game two against Western Illinois. Eleven of his 13 points came in the first half.