MBB Notes: B1G Opener at Michigan State

 

OPPONENT	Iowa (7-0) at No. 11 Michigan State (7-0)
DATE	Tuesday, Dec. 2
LOCATION	East Lansing, Mich. | Breslin Center (15,000)
KICKOFF	6 p.m. (CT)
TV	Peacock
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 includes1 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: Tuesday’s game will be streamed on NBC’s Peacock with Paul Burmeister (play-by-play) and Nick Bahe (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
•The Hawkeyes bring a 7-0 record into Tuesday’s Big Ten Conference opener at Michigan State.  It is the first time since the 2021-22 season that Iowa has opened the season with seven straight wins.
• Tuesday’s game is the first the league-wide slate for the 2025-26 season. It is the first time Iowa has met the Spartans in a league opener since the 2015-16 campaign.  
• The matchup in East Lansing is head coach Ben McCollum’s Big Ten debut and his first-ever game against a Big Ten opponent.
• McCollum is the fourth Iowa coach all-time to open his tenure with seven consecutive wins -- the first since Dr. Tom Davis in the 1986-87 season.
• The Hawkeyes are eighth in the nation with a .531 field goal percentage, which includes a .630 effective field goal percentage.  Iowa is shooting 63.2 percent on two-point field goals.
• Iowa won the Acrisure Classic with victories over Ole Miss and Grand Canyon, while senior Bennett Stirtz was named the tournament MVP after averaging 21 points, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals with seven 3-pointers.
• Stirtz scored a season-high 29 points in the win over the Rebels, making 9-of-20 field goals and six 3-pointers, tying a career-high.
• Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch posted his first career-double-double in the win over Ole Miss, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  The 10 rebounds were a career-high, while the 14 points tied a career high.
• Iowa held Grand Canyon to 46 points -- the fewest allowed since 2010 -- and it was the team’s first win when scoring fewer than 60 points since 2020.
• Stirz is averaging 18.6 points with .500/.457/.842 shooting splits, while averaging 5.24 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.7 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 (1,748) and assists (470) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists. 

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
• The Spartans bring a 7-0 record into Tuesday’s Big Ten opener after winning the Fort Myers Tip-off.  Michigan State beat East Carolina (89-56) and North Carolina (74-58) to win the title.
• Michigan State has three wins over ranked opponents in November, downing No. 14 Arkansas (69-66), No. 12 Kentucky (83-66) in New York City and No. 18 North Carolina (74-58) in Fort Myers.
• The Spartans are 4-0 inside the Breslin Center this season.
• Michigan State has four players averaging in double figures: Jaxon Kohler (14.6), Jeremy Fears, Jr., (12.0), Coen Carr (10.7) and Carson Cooper (10.6). 
• Kohler is averaging 9.7 rebounds and has 12 3-pointers to lead the team, Fears, Jr., averages 9.7 assists and has a team-high 12 steals.
• Michigan State shoots 47.1 percent from the field, but just 34 percent from 3-point range.  Defensively, the Spartans limit their opponents to 38 percent shooting and 27.9 percent from distance.
• MSU’s scoring defense (61.6) is 11th nationally.
• The Spartans are one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, averaging 42.3 rebounds per game, which includes 14.6 offensive rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY
• Tuesday’s game is the 139th in the all-time series that dates back to 1937.  The Spartans lead the series, 78-60.  
• Iowa has won five of the last seven dating back to the 2020-21 season.  The Spartans won in Iowa City last season, winning 91-84 on March 6.
• The Hawkeyes are 20-47 all-time in East Lansing, but Iowa has won two of the last three games at the Breslin Center.
• Iowa won 88-58 on Feb. 13, 2021, fell 63-61 in 2023 and was victorious, 78-71, in its last game in East Lansing on Feb. 20, 2024.

LAST GAME: IOWA 59, GRAND CANYON 46
Iowa’s defense limited Grand Canyon to 46 points -- the fewest points allowed by the Hawkeyes since 2016 -- and 17 total field goals in a 59-46 victory in the Acrisure Classic title game.  
• The Hawkeyes had three players land in double figures with sophomore Isaia Howard leading the way with a season-high 19 points and six rebounds.  He went 7-of-10 from the field with a season-best three 3-pointers.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz had 13 points, five assists, three steals and two rebounds in 40 minutes.  Stirtz played all 80 minutes in the tournament.  Sophomore Cooper Koch finished with 11 points and six boards -- his second straight game in double digits.

MORE NOTABLES
• The last time Iowa opened the season with eight straight victories was the 2000-01 campaign (nine straight wins) under Steve Alford.
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras is averaging 10 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals.  He has 18 assists and three turnovers in seven games, while shooting 56.1 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from 3-point range.
• Sophomore Isaia Howard had a breakout game in the win over Grand Canyon, leading all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting with a season-high three 3-pointers.
• In two games at the Acrisure Classic, Howard averaged 11.5 points and five rebounds, while shooting 56.3 percent from the field.  
• Junior Kael Combs averaged 36.7 minutes -- second behind Stirtz -- in the two games at the Acrisure Classic.  He averaged 6.5 points and 2.5 assists.  His best game came in the win over Xavier when he finished with 11 points -- one off a career-high -- and four assists in 32 minutes.  
• The Hawkeyes are averaging 36 points in the paint this season.
• Senior Brendan Hausen has made eight field goals this season -- all coming from 3-point range.  All but three of his attempts have come from distance.
• Iowa is second in the Big Ten and 38th nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.384).  The team has made 10 or more 3-pointers in three contests and eight or more five times.
• Iowa has the No. 1 scoring defense in the conference, allowing 61.1 points per game.  The Hawkeyes are forcing 15.6 turnovers per games -- fifth-most in the Big Ten.
• The Hawkeyes have held three opponents under 60 points this season and all seven opponents at 70 points or below.
• Iowa is leading the Big Ten in steals at 7.6 per game and the team has had 10+ steals twice this season.
• The Hawkeyes attempted 44 free throws (made 36) in the season-opening win over Robert Morris.  Iowa, who has made 25 or more free throws in three games this season, is averaging 21.1 makes per game -- third-most in the Big Ten and 18th-most nationally.
• Iowa has attempted more free throws than its opponent in all eight games this season.