Iowa Handles Ole Miss, 74-69

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – The University of Iowa men's basketball team defeated Ole Miss, 74-69, on Tuesday night in the opening game of the Acrisure Classic at Acrisure Arena. The Hawkeyes move to 6-0 on the season.

Both teams got off to a slow start offensively with the Hawkeyes and Rebels combining to start 3-of-11 from the field. The Hawkeye defense forced Ole Miss into four turnovers in its first eight possessions while holding them to a 1-of-6 start from the field. The Rebels were held scoreless for more than six minutes.

After losing the lead briefly, senior Bennett Stirtz went on a 7-0 personal run to give the Hawkeyes a 14-8 advantage. Iowa used another spurt, outscoring Ole Miss, 9-0, to take a 27-22 lead. At the half the game was tied 31-31.

Stirtz led all scorers with 11 points in the first 20 minutes. Junior Cam Manyawu added four rebounds, two steals and an assist. Iowa forced Ole Miss into 10 first half turnovers.

After trailing by one with just over seven minutes to play, Iowa would use a 10-2 run to create a 64-57 advantage with over four minutes remaining. Iowa would protect its lead for the rest of the game. The Hawkeyes iced the game from the free throw line as they earned their first win over a SEC opponent since 2010.

Stirtz would catch fire in the second half, scoring 18 points while shooting 4-of-5 from beyond the arc. The Liberty, Missouri, native finished with 29 points, three rebounds and two assists. Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch notched his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawkeyes shot 24-of-56 (42.9) from the field and 8-of-22 (36.4) from 3-point range. Iowa shot 18-of-24 (75.0) from the charity stripe. The Hawkeyes finished with just seven turnovers, a season low, including just one in the second half.

GAME NOTES

• Iowa improved to 6-0 with a 74-69 victory over Ole Miss on Tuesday night in the opening game of the Acrisure Classic.

• The victory is Iowa’s first over an SEC opponent since 2010 – a win over Alabama in the Paradise Jam in St. Thomas.  It is the Hawkeyes’ sixth win against an SEC opponent since 2000.

• Head coach Ben McCollum improves to 6-0 out of the gates in his Hawkeye tenure – the fourth-longest streak by a first-year coach in program history and the longest since Dr. Tom Davis in 1987-88 season. 

• Iowa had two players land in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (29), Cooper Koch (14)

• Stirtz led all scorers with 29 points (one off a career high), making 9-of-20 field goals and six 3-pointers, tying a career high. 

  • It was his third 20-point game of the season (37th of his career).

  • He had three rebounds and two assists.

  • Stirtz played all 40 minutes for the third time this season and for the 44th time in his career.

• Koch posted his first career double-double, tying a career-high with 14 points and grabbing a career-best 10 rebounds in 34 minutes

• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras had seven points and two assists. 

  • He has 18 assists without a turnover this season.

• The Hawkeyes committed just seven turnovers in the game – a season low. 

  • Iowa had one turnover in the second half.

• Iowa forced 10 turnovers in the first half and 13 turnovers in the game.

• Neither team led by more than six points in the opening half.  Ole Miss hit its only 3-pointer of the half as time expired to send the game into the break tied at 31.
  
  UP NEXT
  Iowa returns to the court Wednesday, facing Grand Canyon at 8:30 p.m. (CT) in the Acrisure Classic title game. The game will be televised on the CBS Sports Network.