Hawkeyes Defeat Robert Morris, 101-69, in McCollum’s Debut

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Robert Morris, 101-69, on Tuesday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena in the team’s season-opener. It marked head coach Ben McCollum’s first victory at the helm of the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes opened the game on a 17-2 run, forcing four turnovers in Robert Morris’ first eight possessions. Iowa extended its advantage to 22-4 as senior Bennett Stirtz scored 10 of the Hawkeyes’ first 22 points on a perfect 3-of-3 start from the field.

Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch added a dunk as Iowa’s lead grew to 41-19 late in the first half and freshman Trevin Jirak notched his first career collegiate points to give Iowa its largest lead of the half, 49-24, with under a minute remaining. The Hawkeyes led 49-26 at the break.

Stirtz paced all scorers in the opening 20 minutes with 15 points on 5-of-6 (.833) shooting to go along with three assists, two steals, and one block. Iowa’s defense forced 13 first-half turnovers while holding Robert Morris to 11-of-29 (37.9) from the field and 1-of-11 (.091) from beyond the arc.

Back-to-back buckets from senior Tavion Banks sparked an 8-0 Iowa run early in the second half, extending the lead to 69-40 at the 12-minute mark. The Hawkeyes later used another 8-0 spurt to push the advantage to 84-46.  Iowa outscored the Colonials, 23-6, over an eight-minute span.

Stirtz led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, including 2-of-5 from deep. He also led Iowa with six assists and four steals. Banks added 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, going 5-of-6 from the foul line, while grabbing four rebounds and recording two steals.

As a team, Iowa shot 29-of-47 (61.7) from the field and 7-of-15 (46.7) from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes made 36-of-44 (81.8) from the free throw line. The Iowa defense forced 23 Robert Morris turnovers.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“First off, thanks to the fans for coming out, particularly the students. It makes the environment so much more fun. Even if you’re playing well, not playing well, whatever it may be. To have fans that cheer, it kind of just snowballs on itself. Where now people are, oh there are students there, that’s a fun place to go and then more students come then more fans come. That’s what Iowa basketball needs to be.

Obviously, there is still going to be a work in process. We’ve got a long way to go. I was really happy with our energy out of the gate.”

GAME NOTES

• McCollum has now won 10 straight season openers (8 at Northwest Missouri State, 1 at Drake, 1 at Iowa).
• Iowa has won its last 14 regular season openers.
• McCollum is the third Hawkeye head coach to register 100+ points in their debut (Ralph Miller, 1965 & Lute Olson, 1975).
• Iowa had six players finish in double figures – Bennett Stirtz (19), Tavion Banks (17), Alvaro Folgueiras (11), Isaia Howard (10), Cam Manyawu (10) and Brendan Hausen (10).
• Stirtz scored a game-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting.  He was 2-for-5 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. 
  • He also had a team-high six assists and four steals.
  • It was his 29th career game with 3+ steals.
  • He has been in double digits in 10 straight games dating back to last season.
  • His 19 points tied Aaron White for the most by a Hawkeye in their team debut in the last 30 seasons.
• All 11 Hawkeyes that played scored in the game as Iowa shot 61.7 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from 3-point range. 
  • Iowa shot 64.0 percent in the first half (16-of-25) and limited the Colonials to 37.9 percent shooting (9.1 from 3-point range).
• Iowa went 36-of-44 from the free throw line with five players making at least five free throws.
• The Hawkeyes had 21 assists on their 29 field goals.
• Iowa opened the game on a 17-2 run over the first 5+ minutes, limiting RMU to 1-of-5 shooting and forcing four turnovers.
• The Hawkeyes made 8-of-11 field goals, including three of their first four 3-pointers, to start the game. 

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Friday, hosting Western Illinois at 6 p.m. (CT) in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  Tickets are available at the Iowa Athletics Ticket Office.