Notes: Western Illinois

 

OPPONENT	Western Illinois at Iowa
DATE	Friday, Nov. 7
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (14,998)
KICKOFF	6 p.m. (CT)
STREAM	B1G+
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.
Stream: Friday’s game will be streamed on B1G+ with Colin Carrithers (play-by-play) and Jess Settles (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• Iowa opened the regular season with a 101-69 victory over Robert Morris on Tuesday in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  It was Iowa’s 14th straight win in a season opener.
• Ben McCollum is 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).
• Senior Bennett Stirtz led the way with 19 points to go along with six assists and four steals.  The 19 points tied Aaron White for the most by a Hawkeye in their team debut in the last 30 seasons.
• Amongst active players, Stirtz is the only player nationally ranked in the top 10 in points (1,637) and assists (438) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists.  
• Iowa is receiving votes in both the preseason Associated Press and Coaches’ rankings.  The Hawkeyes are 37th in the AP poll and 39th in the Coaches’ poll.
• The Hawkeyes had six players land in double figures and the team shot 61.7 percent from the field in the win over Robert Morris.
• 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 ROBERT MORRIS
• WIU dropped its season opener, falling 80-75 at Radford on Monday night.  Guard Lucas Lorenzen paced the team, scoring 25 points on 9-of-14 shooting with four 3s.  The Leathernecks shot 47.5 percent but went just 6-of-18 from 3.
• The Leathernecks were picked to finish 11th in the 2025-16 OVC preseason poll in a vote of league coaches and communications directors.
• Western Illinois has 14 newcomers on its roster with players from Division I, Division II, junior college, NAIA and high school levels.  Ifiok Peter, who redshirted a season ago, is the lone returnee.
• WIU has Division I transfers from Indiana State, Idaho State, Northern Illinois, Bradley, Missouri and Southern Illinois.  
• The Leathernecks have three Iowans on the roster -- Lucas Lorenzen (Milford, Iowa/Okoboji HS), Jake Edwards (Winfield, Iowa/Winfield Mount Union) and Goanar Biliew (Denison, Iowa/Denison-Schleswig HS).
• Iowa’s Tavion Banks and WIU’s Antwaun Massey were high school teammates at Minnesota Prep.
•  The Leathernecks play their first four games of the regular season on the road -- coast-to-coast -- with stops in Virginia, Iowa City and California.

SERIES HISTORY
• The Hawkeyes are 11-0 all-time against Western Illinois, which includes a 9-0 mark inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Friday’s meeting is the first in the series since 2021 -- a 92-71 Iowa victory.  
• Iowa is 29-1 all-time against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference with the lone loss coming against Eastern Illinois in 2022.

 

LAST GAME: IOWA 101, ROBERT MORRIS 69
The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 17-2 lead over the first five minutes and made 8-of-11 field goals to start the contest to roll to a 101-69 season-opening victory over Robert Morris.  The victory was the first of the Ben McCollum era.
• Iowa never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 38 midway through the second half.
• The Hawkeyes had six players land in double figures and all 11 players that saw the court scored. 
• Senior Bennett Stirtz led the way with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting to go along with six assists and four steals.
• Iowa shot 61.7 percent from the field (with eight dunks) and made 36-of-44 free throws in the victory. 
• Iowa scored 33 points off of 23 RMU turnovers.

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).

MAC NOTABLES
• Ben McCollum coached four NCAA Division II National Championship teams at Northwest Missouri State, winning titles in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2022.  The 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled because of COVID.
• McCollum has led his team to 20+ victories in 14 consecutive seasons, dating back to the 2011-12 season (his third at Northwest Missouri State).
• Since winning his first NCAA title in 2017, McCollum’s team’s have lost a total of 25 games over the past nine seasons.  His teams have gone 284-25 (.919) since the start of the 2016-17 season.
• No McCollum-coached team since his first team in 2009-10 at Northwest Missouri State has allowed more than 70 points per game in a season.

IRON HAWK
Senior Bennett Stirtz has started all 104 games of his collegiate career.  He has played 40 or more minutes 41 times, including in 25 games last season at Drake.

BENNETT IN BLACK & GOLD
Senior Bennett Stirtz scored 19 points in his Hawkeye debut, making 6-of-10 field goals (two 3s) and 5-of-6 free throws.  He also had six assists and four steals in the win.
• Stirtz’s 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 10 straight games dating back to last season at Drake.