No. 25/23 Hawkeyes Bounce Bruins, 74-61

IOWA CITY, Iowa - The 25th-ranked University of Iowa men’s basketball team downed UCLA, 74-61, on Saturday on Mediacom Court inside Carver Hawkeye Arena to improve to 12-2 overall.

The Hawkeyes got the scoring started in the half, but both teams took turns putting up points. Junior Alvaro Folgueiras hit two crucial back-to-back 3-point baskets to send Iowa on an 11-1 run through the 11-minute mark. 

Iowa built a 20-7 lead with nine minutes left in the half after holding the Bruins scoreless for four minutes of game play. The Hawkeyes slowed down pace before the eight-minute timeout, but responded quickly after with back-to-back 3s to propel Iowa on a hot streak. The Hawkeyes led 40-22 at the half. 

Iowa scored 21 of its 40 first-half points from beyond the arc and had 14 rebounds in the first 20 minutes. Senior Bennett Stirtz led the team with 14 points to go along with four assists and four rebounds. Folgueiras added 11 points, with a block and a steal. 

The Bruins fought back, holding Iowa scoreless for a six-minute stretch to cut the deficit to single digits. Iowa got to the free-throw line 10 times, going 17-for-21, capitalizing on UCLA fouls. Senior Tavion Banks made four crucial free throws late in the game to put Iowa up three scores with 1:40 left in the game, to help seal the Hawkeye win, 74-61.  

Stirtz led Iowa with 27 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field with four rebounds and five assists. Folgueiras added 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting while pulling in five rebounds and blocking two shots. Sophomore Isaia Howard shot 4-of-10 from the field, scoring 11 points, and adding five rebounds. Banks rounded out Hawkeyes in double digits with 10 points, shooting 3-of-5 from the floor with four rebounds and a block.  

The Hawkeyes shot 22-of-47 (46.8) from the field and 8-of-26 (30.8) from 3-point range. Iowa shot 22-of-26 (84.6) from the charity stripe. Iowa poured in 28 off the bench, while outrebounding the Bruins, 32-27. 

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM

“They are a fun group to be proud of, because they exemplify exactly what Iowa stands for. You're not always perfect, but they will compete, they will fight, and I'm super proud of our guys. UCLA is really good. They are very difficult to defend, and we didn't have an answer for that. Didn't have a great answer for offense in the second half either, so we will work to correct that. But all in all, it was a good win."

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes picked up their second Big Ten victory of the season, downing UCLA, 74-61, on Saturday afternoon in front of a season-high 12,657 fans in attendance.
• Iowa matches the 2020-21 team for the best start through 14 games with a 12-2 record.
• Iowa moves to 9-0 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena this season and 3-0 all-time against UCLA in Iowa City.
• The Hawkeyes had four players land in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (27), Alvaro Folgueiras (13), Isaia Howard (11), Tavion Banks (10)
  • Stirtz had his second straight and sixth 20-point game of the season, finishing with 27 points on 8-of-10 shooting with four 3-pointers and he went 7-of-7 from the free throw line.  He also had five assists in the game.
  • Folgueriras opened the game 3-for-3 from 3-point range. It was his fourth game with three 3-pointers.
  • Howard scored in double figures for the first time in seven games, finishing with 11 points.
• UCLA cut an 18-point halftime deficit to four points (61-57) with 3:13 remaining.  The Bruins held the Hawkeyes without a field goal during a 6:03 stretch in the second half.
• Iowa held UCLA to a season-low 61 points.  The Bruins shot just 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) from 3-point range.
• The Hawkeyes had a 14-point advantage at the free throw line, going 22-of-26 from the line.  UCLA was 8-of-12.
• Iowa won the rebounding battle, 32-27.  The team is 10-1 when out-rebounding its opponent.
• UCLA made 3-of-11 field goals over first eight minutes and 6-of-20 field goals over the first 15 minutes.
• Iowa made 10 of its first 15 shots to start the game, including five 3-pointers, to build a 28-12 lead.
  • The Hawkeyes led by as many as 24 (38-14) in the first half. 

UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Tuesday, traveling to Minneapolis for a Big Ten road game at Minnesota.  The game will be televised on BTN, beginning at 7 p.m. (CT).