MBB Notes -- at Indiana

 

OPPONENT	RV/#23 Iowa at Indiana
DATE	Saturday, Jan. 17
LOCATION	Bloomington, Ind. | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall
KICKOFF	1:10 p.m. (CT)
TV	FOX
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.
TV: Saturday’s game will be televised on FOX with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Steve Smith (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• Iowa gets its third straight chance at a Quad 1 victory when it travels to Bloomington to face Indiana on Saturday.
• The Hawkeyes have won five of the last six meetings in the series against Indiana, but Iowa has won just three of the last 10 meetings in Bloomington.
• Four of Iowa’s five losses have come against top 20 opponents and four of the five defeats have come on the road.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Top 25 Midseason Watch List, while also being tabbed as a third-team Sporting News Midseason All-American.
• The Hawkeyes got a career-high 16 points and four 3-point field goals from junior guard Kael Combs in the road loss at No. 5 Purdue.  Combs has posted career highs in scoring in two of the team’s last three games.
• Senior Tavion Banks finished with a team-high 16 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals against No. 16 Illinois on Jan. 11.  Banks played through remnants of the flu -- a bout that led him to losing 8-10 pounds and forced him to miss two days of practice.
• Stirtz is averaging 19.7 points, 3.8 assists, two rebounds and one steal in Big Ten play, while shooting 46.5 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from 3-point range.
• Iowa ranks16th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 51.1 percent.  The team also is 10th in effective field goal percentage (.588).
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 62.7 points per game -- the fewest in the Big Ten and sixth-fewest nationally. Iowa has held five opponents under 60 points this season; the past three seasons the team held opponents under 60 points five times combined.
• This is the first time a Ben McCollum coached team has lost three straight games since the 2012-13 season.  
• Amongst active players, Stirtz is the only player nationally ranked in the top 10 in points (1,919) and assists (517) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists. 

SCOUTING INDIANA
• The Hoosiers have dropped two straight games against Nebraska (83-77) and at Michigan State (81-60) to drop their record to 12-5 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play.  
• Indiana opened the season with seven straight wins before losing three of four.  The Hoosiers have Big Ten victories over Penn State, Washington and at Maryland.
• Indiana is 10-1 inside Assembly Hall this season with its lone defeat coming against Nebraska on Jan. 10.  
• The Hoosiers have four players averaging in double figures with Lamar Wilkerson leading the team with a 20.2 scoring average, which ranks fourth in the Big Ten.  He has a league-best 61 3-pointers (seventh nationally), while shooting a B1G-best 42.4 percent from long range.
• Forward Tucker DeVries averages 14.6 points and a team-high 4.9 rebounds, guard Tayton Conerway averages 11.9 points and has a team-high 77 assists and 25 steals, while Reed Baily chips in 10.1 points per game.  
• The Hoosiers are sixth in the Big Ten, averaging 83.1 points per game, while surrendering 68.8.  The team shots 48 percent from the field and averages 10.5 3-pointers (2nd-most in B1G), while making 36.1 percent of its attempts.
• As a team, Indiana shoots 78 percent from the free throw line and averages 17.1 points per game.  
• IU head coach Darin DeVries is in his first season with the Hoosiers following a one-year stint at West Virginia.  DeVries preceded Iowa head coach Ben McCollum as the head man at Drake.
• DeVries is a native of Aplington, Iowa, and he played collegiate at Northern Iowa.  His brother, Jared, has an All-American with the Iowa football program.

SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday’s game is the 191st meeting in the all-time series that began in 1909.  The Hoosiers lead the series, 107-83.
• Iowa has won five of the last six meetings, including an 85-60 triumph last season in Iowa City.  
• Indiana is 63-32 against Iowa in Bloomington.  The Hawkeyes’ last victory came on Feb. 28, 2023, in a 90-68 rout. 
• Iowa has three wins inside Assembly Hall in its last 10 meetings.

 

LAST GAME: PURDUE 79, IOWA 72
In a game that featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, No. 5 Purdue rallied for a 79-72 victory over the Hawkeyes on Wednesday night inside Mackey Arena.  Iowa led 48-39 early in the second half before the Boilermakers used a 12-2 run to tie the game at 50.  The game was tied three times in the final 10 minutes.
• Iowa made 12 3-pointers in the contest and shot 52.9 percent from the field.  Purdue also shot 52.9 percent, but went 19-of-22 from the free throw line; Iowa was 6-of-10.
• Junior Kael Combs scored a career-high 16 points with career-highs in field goals (6) and 3-pointers (4).  Bennett Stirtz led the team with 19 points, while Cam Manyawu scored 13.

MORE NOTABLES
• This is the first time a Ben McCollum coached team has lost three straight games since the 2012-13 season.  
• Freshman guard Peyton McCollum suffered a foot injury in practice on Jan. 8 that will require him to miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season.   
• The Hawkeyes climbed as high as No. 19 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ Polls on Jan. 5.  It was Iowa’s highest ranking since being 16th in the final poll during the 2021-22 season.
• Iowa made its debut in the AP poll in Week 8.  It was the program’s first time in the AP poll since Nov. 21, 2022 (No. 25 ranking). 
• The Hawkeyes have been in the Coaches’ Poll in each of the last seven weeks.
• In Big Ten play, Hawkeye opponents have attempted 52 more free throw attempts (84 to 136) and made 42 more free  throws (61 to 103).  Iowa has been whistled for 21 more fouls than its opponents.
• Iowa used its third starting lineup of the season, inserting Alvaro Folgueiras into the lineup in place of Tavion Banks on Jan. 11 against Illinois.  It was Folgueiras’ first start as a Hawkeye.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz won his 100th career game on Dec. 14 in the victory over Western Michigan.  During his collegiate career, Stirtz has posted a 103-17 record (.858 winning percentage).
• During the month of December, Iowa was the second-most efficient team in the country based on efficiency data by Torvik (trailing only Michigan).
• The Hawkeyes finished 10-1 in nonconference play -- the best record in non-league play since the 2021-22 season (10-1).
• Senior Bennett Stirtz is the 15th-most valuable player to his team nationally by Evan Miya.  He has been KenPom’s Game MVP nine times this season -- tied for the fifth-most in the nation.
• The Hawkeyes allowed just 39 points -- the fewest since 2013 (vs. UNC Wilmington) -- against Bucknell.   The .597 points allowed per possession was the fewest by the team since 2013.
• Iowa was +20 on the glass in the win over Bucknell, its largest rebounding advantage of the season.  The Hawkeyes, who have won the rebounding battle in 12 games (10-2 record).
• The Hawkeyes are averaging 33.5 points in the paint this season.  Iowa has scored 50 or more points in the paint in three games, including a season-high 54 points in the win over UMass Lowell on Dec. 29.
• Senior Brendan Hausen scored a season-high 13 points and made a season-best four 3-pointers on Dec. 14 against Western Michigan. Hausen has made 18 field goals this season with 16 coming from long range.  
• The Hawkeyes made a season-high 14 3-point field goals with six different players making at least one in the win over Western Michigan.  Iowa is second in the Big Ten (and ranks 26th nationally) with a .377 3-point field goal percentage.
• Iowa has made 10 or more 3-pointers in five contests and eight or more 11 times.
• The Hawkeyes attempted 44 free throws (made 36) in the season-opening win over Robert Morris.  Iowa has made 25 or more free throws in three games this season.
• Iowa has attempted more free throws than its opponent in 10 games this season.  The team shot a season-high 91.7 percent (22-of-24) in the win over UMass Lowell on Dec. 29.