Hawkeyes Handle Hoosiers, 74-57

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Indiana at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Saturday afternoon, 74-57, in a game in which they never trailed. The Hawkeyes improved to 13-5 on the season and 3-4 in conference play.

The Hawkeyes opened the game on a 10-2 spurt as the Hoosiers started the game just 2-of-13 from the field. Iowa continued building on their lead, as a layup from freshman Tate Sage gave the Hawkeyes their biggest lead of the half as they led Indiana, 24-13 with under eight minutes remaining. After the cold start for Indiana, the two teams would combine to make 15 straight shots over five minutes as Indiana cut the lead to five. Iowa responded, pushing their lead back to double digits to end the half. After 20 minutes, the Hawkeyes led the Hoosiers, 38-28.

Senior Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 14 points, four assists, and two rebounds, while playing all 20 minutes in the opening half. Senior Tavion Banks added nine points and four rebounds. The Hawkeyes shot 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) from the field and 5-of-10 from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.

After an 8-2 run, Indiana would cut the Iowa lead to four with 11 minutes remaining. The remainder of the game would be dominated by Iowa. Over the next seven minutes, Iowa used a 21-5 run, to push their lead to, 70-50. Over that span, the Hawkeyes didn’t allow Indiana to make a field goal for over eight minutes. After Indiana cut it to four, the Hawkeyes outscored the Hoosiers, 25-8, the remainder of the game.

Stirtz led Iowa with 27 points and five assists while Banks netted a season-high 26 points. The two Hawkeyes combined to score 53 points, shoot 15-of-25 (60 percent) from the field, 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from 3-point range, and 19-of-20 (95 percent) from the free-throw line. Banks grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

The Hawkeyes shot 23-of-46 from the field and 7-of-19 (36.8 percent) from 3-point range. Iowa shot 21-of-23 (91.3 percent) from the free-throw line. Iowa forced nine Indiana turnovers, turning them into 17 points. The Hawkeye defense held Indiana to a season low 57 points, while also holding them to just 20-of-52 (38.5 percent) from the field and 6-of-24 (25 percent) from 3-point range.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“Indiana is a well-coached team, they have a lot of seniors, so we knew we were going to have our hands full. The atmosphere here is unbelievable. We were fortunate enough to come out and execute our game plan pretty consistently from the start. I thought Bennett did a great job dictating the tempo. Tavion obviously had a big-time game. I thought this was [Alvaro’s] best game in the second half. Not necessarily from an offensive perspective but from a defensive perspective he was making winning plays which we need to continue to build on. Certainly, proud of our effort and, obviously, on to the next.” 

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes went on the road to down Indiana, 74-57, on Saturday afternoon inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
• The victory is Iowa’s first road win of the season and the team’s first Quad 1 victory in five tries.
• The Hawkeyes have won six of the last seven meetings over the Hoosiers, but it is just the team’s second win in Bloomington since 2020.
• Seniors Bennett Stirtz (27) and Tavion Banks (26) combined to score 53 of Iowa’s 74 points.  
  • It marks the first time since Feb. 10, 2022 that two Hawkeyes scored 25+ points each on the road.
• Stirtz recorded his eighth 20-point game of the season, making 7-of-13 field goals, three 3-pointers and 10-of-11 free throws.
  • The 10 free throw makes were a career high.
  • He also had five assists – his 11th game with five or more helpers.
  • Stirtz scored 14 points and had four assists in the first half.
• Banks finished with a season-high 26 points – a Division I career-best -- and a team-high eight rebounds, making 8-of-12 field goals and going 9-of-9 from the free throw line.
  • Over the last seven games Banks has made 21 consecutive free throws. 
• The Hawkeyes finished 21-of-23 from the free throw line compared to 11-of-15 for the Hoosiers.
  • It is the first time since the Jan. 3 game against UCLA that Iowa has made and attempted more free throws than its opponent.
  • Iowa was 14-of-14 from the free throw line in the second half.
  • It marks the first time since Dec. 12, 2019 that Iowa shot 90% or better at the free throw line on the road (minimum 20 attempts).
• Iowa used a 12-1 run over a 3:47 stretch, turning a 54-47 lead into a 66-48 lead with 5:27 to play.
• Indiana, who entered the game averaging 10.5 3-point field goals per game; made just 6-of-24 3-point field goals.
• Iowa held the Hoosiers to 57 points – 26 points below their season average. The 57 points were a season low.
  • Indiana shot just 20-of-52 (38.5 percent) from the field.
  • The Hawkeyes held Lamar Wilkerson and Tucker Devries to a combined 16 points, 17 points below their combined season average.
  • Wilkerson and Devries combined to shoot 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) from the field and 3-of-11 (27.2 percent) from deep.
• The Hawkeyes shot 50.0 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from 3-point range.  Iowa is 10-2 when shooting 50 percent or better.
• Iowa jumped out to a 10-2 lead over the first seven minutes.  After IU scored six straight to make the score 10-8, the Hawkeyes used an 8-0 spurt to push the lead to 16-8 at the 9:45 mark.
• The Hawkeyes led by double digits five times in the final eight minutes of the first half, including taking a 38-28 lead into the locker room.

UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Tuesday, hosting Rutgers at 7:30 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tickets are available at hawkeyesports.com.