MBB Notes: Iowa to Meet GCU in Acrisure Classic Title Game

 

OPPONENT	Grand Canyon (4-2) vs. Iowa (6-0)
DATE	Wednesday, Nov. 26
LOCATION	Palm Desert, Calif. | Acrisure Arena (11,000)
KICKOFF	8:30 p.m. (CT)
TV	CBS Sports Network
RADIO	Hawkeye Radio Network

 

ON THE AIR
Radio: Games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin (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: Wednesday's game of the Acrisure Classic will be televised on the CBS Sports Network with Ed Cohen (play-by-play) and Dan Dickau (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes bring a 6-0 record to the Acrisure Classic championship game against Grand Canyon.  Iowa’s win over Ole Miss was its first over an SEC opponent since 2010.
• Wednesday’s game is the second meeting all-time between Iowa and GCU.  The Hawkeyes beat the Antelopes, 86-74, in the 2021 NCAA Tournament in Indianapolis.
• Head coach Ben McCollum is the fourth Iowa coach all-time to open his tenure with six consecutive wins -- the since Dr. Tom Davis in the 1986-87 season.
• The Hawkeyes are third in the nation with a .550 field goal percentage, which includes a .630 effective field goal percentage.  Iowa is shooting 65.8 percent on two-point field goals.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz scored a season-high 29 points in the win over Ole Miss, making 9-of-20 field goals and six 3-pointers, tying a career-high.  His career-high is 30 points, scored last season at Drake against UIC and Southern Illinois.
• Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch posted his first career-double-double in the win over the Rebels, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  The 10 rebounds were a career-high, while the 14 points tied a career high.
• The Hawkeyes committed just seven turnovers -- one in the second half -- against Ole Miss and won the rebounding battle, 30-29.    
• Stirz is averaging 19.5 points with .537/.536/.882 shooting splits, while averaging 5.2 assists, three rebounds and 1.5 steals. He ranks in the top eight in the Big Ten in points, assists and steals. 
• Amongst active players, Stirtz is the only player nationally ranked in the top 10 in points (1,735) and assists (465) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists. 
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras is averaging 11.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, three assists and 1.2 steals.  He has 18 assists and zero turnovers in six games, while shooting 59 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range. 

SCOUTING GRAND CANYON
• The Antelopes enter Wednesday's game with a 4-2 record following their 68-58 victory over Utah on Tuesday night in Palm Desert.
• GCU dropped a pair of exhibitions at Baylor (79-74) and at home against USC (67-61).
• Grand Canyon's two regular season losses came at home against Youngstown State (90-81) and at Saint Louis (78-64).
• Four GCU players are averaging in double figures with Jaden Henly leading the team with 17 points on 45.2 percent shooting, while Makaih Williams (12.2), Nana Owusu-Anane (11.5) and Brian Moore, Jr. (10.2) are also in double figures.  Owusu-Anane averages a team-high 10.7 rebounds and has a team-best 19 assists.
• GCU is shooting just 30.1 percent from the field, but the Antelopes are +8.8 on the glass, averaging 38.2 rebounds per game.