Hawkeyes Dominate Western Michigan, 91-51

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Western Michigan, 91-51, on Sunday afternoon on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Hawkeyes improve to 9-2 on the season.

The Hawkeyes took no time to build a lead as they started the game on an 8-0 spurt, making their first four field goal attempts of the game, forcing a Western Michigan timeout just two minutes in. Iowa would capitalize on another run, outscoring the Broncos,15-0, over four minutes as it built a 34-10 lead with under eight minutes remaining in the half.

The Hawkeyes would continue building on their lead, using a 11-2 run while holding the Broncos scoreless for more tha three minutes, taking a 47-16 lead with a few minutes remaining in the half. After 20 minutes, Iowa led Western Michigan, 52-16, marking Iowa’s largest halftime lead of the season.

Senior Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 10 points to go along with five assists. As a team, Iowa shot 21-of-32 (65.6) from the field and 6-of-14 (42.9) from beyond the arc. The Hawkeyes dished out 16 assists while committing just two turnovers in the first half.

Iowa continued its domination into the second half, leading the Broncos, 76-27, at the midway point, surpassing its largest lead of the season. The rest of the half would continue to be all Iowa as it protected its lead. Eleven players finished in the scoring column.

Stirtz, junior Alvaro Folgueiras, and senior Brendan Hausen led the way with 13 points. Junior Cam Manyawu added 11 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field. Freshman Tate Sage matched Manyawu with 11 points, while knocking down a career-high three 3-pointers.

As a team, Iowa shot 33-of-59 (55.9) from the field and 14-of-31 (45.2) from deep. The Hawkeyes knocked down 11-of-17 (64.7) at the free throw line. Iowa held the Broncos to 17-of-57 (29.8) from the field and 6-of-24 (25.0) on 3-point attempts.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“I thought we came out well. Offensively, we looked pretty good. Defensively, solid. Not elite energy, but executed, probably better concentration than there was energy. The second half was good outside of the last 10-12 minutes.

GAME NOTES

• Iowa never trailed in a 91-51 victory over Western Michigan on Sunday afternoon inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  
  • The 40-point victory is Iowa’s largest of the season.
• The Hawkeyes’ 9-2 start is the best for the program since the 2020-21 season (12-2 record).  
• Iowa had five players land in double figures: Bennett Stirtz 13, Alvaro Folgueiras 13, Brendan Hausen 13, Cam Manyawu 11, Tate Sage 11 
  • The team had 11 players score in the game and got 49 points from its reserves.
• Hausen’s 13 points are a season high, which included a season-best four 3s.
• Stirtz also had a team-high six assists – his sixth game with 5+ assists this season.
• Sage has been in double figures in two of the last three games and in three total games this season.
• The Hawkeyes shot 65.6 percent (21-of-32) from the floor in the first half and 55.9 percent (33-of-59) for the game.
• Iowa set a season high with 14 3-point field goals with six different players making at least one triple.
• Iowa finished with 24 assists on its 33 field goals and committed just 6 turnovers.
• The Hawkeyes scored the first eight points on a dunk and three layups to force a WMU timeout at the 17:58 mark.   
  • Iowa used a 22-3 run over a 5:35 stretch, including 15 straight, to push its lead to 34-10 at the 8:21 mark. 
  • WMU had a scoring drought of 4:23 midway through the first half.
  • The Hawkeyes made 11-of-15 field goals to start the game.
• Iowa limited WMU to 16 first-half points – a season-low by an opponent – and just six total field goals on 20.7 percent shooting. 
  • The 16 points are the fewest allowed in a half since 2015 (16 vs. Nebraska).

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Saturday, traveling to Des Moines for a neutral site game against Bucknell at the Casey's Center. The game will begin at 5 p.m. (CT) and be televised on BTN. Tickets are available at the Casey's Center Ticket Office.