MBB Notes -- Gold Out vs. Illinois

 

OPPONENT	#16 Illinois at #19 Iowa
DATE	Sunday, Jan. 11
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena
KICKOFF	11:05 a.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: Sunday’s game will be televised on FOX with Jason Benetti (play-by-play) and Steve Smith (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• Sunday’s game is the first top 20 match-up inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena since the 2020-21 season.  The Hawkeyes are looking for their first ranked win since the 2023-24 season.
• It is the first time since the 2019-20 season that Iowa and Illinois meet in Iowa City as ranked teams and it’s the first ranked game between the two teams in four seasons. 
• Iowa’s 12-3 start is the best start for the program since the 2020-21 season.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz has been named to the John R. Wooden Award Top 25 Midseason Watch List.  He is one of six Big Ten players on the list.
• The Hawkeyes have three of the top 10 most efficient offensive games in program history this season, according to KenPom -- Chicago State (3rd), Robert Morris (6th), SEMO (10th). 
• Stirtz is the only player in the Big Ten Conference this season to have 245+ points and 75+ assists and he is one of five players nationally with 245+ points, 25+ steals, 70+ assists and 35+ rebounds.  
• Stirtz is averaging 18 points, five assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals with a team-high seven 20-point contests.  He has scored 20+ in three straight games.  
• Iowa ranks13th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 51.9 percent.
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 60.8 points per game -- the fewest in the Big Ten and fourth-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.
• Amongst active players, Stirtz is the only player nationally ranked in the top 10 in points (1,867) and assists (505) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists. 

SCOUTING ILLINOIS
• The Illini bring a four-game winning streak into Iowa City, which includes an 81-55 victory over Penn State on Thursday in Champaign.  Illinois is 12-3 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play.
• Illinois’ three losses have come against Alabama (90-86) and UConn (74-61) on neutral courts and at home against Nebraska (83-80).  
•The Illini have Power 5 Conference wins over Texas Tech (81-77), Tennessee (75-62) and Missouri (91-48).
• Illinois has four players averaging in double figures and six averaging at least 7.7 points per game.  Freshman Keaton Wagler leads the team with a 15.5 scoring average, 56 assists, 12 steals and 29 3-pointers.  He is shooting 45.6 percent from the field, 39.7 from long range and 83.1 from the line.
• Kylan Boswell (14.5), Andrej Stojakovic (14.4) and David Mirkovic (12.7) are also in double figures, while Tomislav Iisic adds 9.9 points.  Mirkovic also pulls down a team-high 8.3 rebounds and has 39 assists.
• Illinois averages 42.6 rebounds per game, ranking 14th nationally.  The team is +11.5 on the glass, which is the eighth-best margin nationally. 
• The Illini are second in the Big Ten in scoring (86.7 points) and scoring margin (19.4) and the team attempts 29.5 3-pointers per game -- third-most in the league.  
• Illinois shoots 79.7 percent from the free throw stripe -- the top mark in the Big Ten (No. 2 nationally).  The team averages 17.8 makes from the line per game.
• The Illini’s roster is the tallest in the nation per KenPom. 

SERIES HISTORY
• Sunday’s game is the 172nd game in the all-time series between Iowa and Illinois.  The Illini lead the series, 94-77.
• Illinois has won four straight and nine of the last 10 games in the series following a five-game Hawkeye winning streak from 2018-20. 
• Iowa’s last victory over the Illini came on Feb. 4, 2023 -- an 81-79 win in Iowa City.
• The Hawkeyes are 57-24 all-time against Illinois in Iowa City.    The two teams have split the last 10 meetings in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 

 

LAST GAME: MINNESOTA 70, IOWA 67
The Hawkeyes had three looks at potential game-tying 3-pointers on Tuesday night in Williams Arena, but couldn’t get one to fall as Minnesota handed Iowa a 70-67 loss.  
• Iowa trailed by 14 points at the midway point of the second half before using a 20-5 spurt to take a 65-64 lead with 1:14 to play.  The Gophers followed with five straight points in an eventual three-point win.
• Iowa had three players finish in double figures with senior Bennett Stirtz leading the way with 21 points -- all of which came in the second half.  Junior Kael Combs finished with a career-high 14 points and sophomore Isaia Howard scored 10 points and had six rebounds off the bench.
• Minnesota had an 11-point advantage at the free throw line, making 21-of-28 attempts.  Iowa was 10-of-13.

MORE NOTABLES
• 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 are ranked 19th in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches’ Polls.  It is 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). 
• Iowa has been in the Coaches’ Poll in each of the last six weeks and the No. 19 ranking is a season best.
• 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 103-15 record (.873 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 11th-most valuable player to his team nationally by Evan Miya.  He has been KenPom’s Game MVP nine times this season -- tied for the fourth-most in the nation.
• In its last five games, Iowa’s defense is holding its opponents to 56.6 points per game with a .410 field goal percentage and 24 total 3-point field goals.
• 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.
• Junior Kael Combs finished with a career-high 14 points, making 6-of-10 field goals, in Iowa’s road game at Minnesota.  On Dec. 20 against Bucknell, Combs made 6-of-7 field goals en route to a 13-point outing. 
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras has scored in double figures in four of the last five games, where he is averaging 11.4 points on 58.3 percent (21-of-36) shooting.  He has eight 3-pointers in the five-game stretch.
• 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 five straight games, are 10-2 when they win the rebounding battle this season.
• Senior Tavion Banks finished with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting with a season-high two 3-point field goals at Iowa State. He had 16 points and nine rebounds against Bucknell, narrowly missing his second double-double of the season.   
• The Hawkeyes are averaging 34.1 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 36th nationally) with a .375 3-point field goal percentage.
• Iowa has made 10 or more 3-pointers in four contests and eight or more nine 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.
• Folgueiras scored 13 points in eight minutes in the first half and led the team with 17 points in the win over Bucknell on Dec. 20.  He made 7-of-10 field goals, including three 3-pointers, to lead the team in scoring for the second time this season.