MBB Notes - No. 13/12 Purdue

 

OPPONENT	#13/12 Purdue at RV/#25 Iowa
DATE	Saturday, Feb. 14
LOCATION	Iowa City, Iowa | Carver-Hawkeye Arena
KICKOFF	4 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 Tim Brando (play-by-play) and Casey Jacobsen (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes welcome No. 13 Purdue to Iowa City on Saturday.  It is the team’s fifth game against a ranked foe this season; Iowa is looking for its first ranked win since the 2023-24 season.
• Saturday’s game is sold out. It is the first sellout of the Ben McCollum era and the first sellout since the regular season finale of the 2023-24 season against Illinois. 
• Iowa has 18 wins and eight in Big Ten play, surpassing the 2024-25 win totals.  The Hawkeyes are 12-1 at home this season.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz has scored 30+ points in three of the last four games and 20+ points in seven straight games (14 times this season; tied for second-most nationally).  He has scored 122 points over his last four games, the most in a four-game stretch since Luka Garza (126) in 2020-21 and the most in four straight Big Ten games since downtown Freddy Brown in 1971 (122).
• His 36 points against Northwestern are the most by a Hawkeye since Luka Garza in 2021 and are tied for the fourth-most in a game in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history.
• Stirtz shared the Big Ten Player of the Week honor on Feb. 2 and Feb. 9. He is the first Hawkeye since Keegan Murray in 2021-22 to earn the accolade in consecutive weeks. He also named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week of Feb. 10.
• Stirtz was named to the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 list on Feb. 10.
• Four of Iowa’s six losses have come against top 20 opponents and five of the six defeats have come on the road.
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras has scored in double figures three times in the last five games. Iowa is 11-0 this season when the forward reaches double digits.
• Stirtz is second in the Big Ten in scoring in league-only games, averaging 23.6 points to go along with  4.2 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals with a .527/.404/.814 shooting clip. He has three 30-point and nine 20-point contests in league play.
• Iowa ranks 14th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 50.6 percent.  The team also is 13th in effective field goal percentage (.581).
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 64.3 points per game -- the fewest in the Big Ten and 11th-fewest nationally. Iowa has held six opponents under 60 points this season.
• Iowa has held all but one opponent below its team season scoring average on the year.

SCOUTING PURDUE
• After suffering a three-game losing streak from Jan. 20-27, Purdue has rattled off three straight wins to improve to 20-4 overall and 10-3 in Big Ten play.
• The Boilermakers saw a 22-point lead evaporate on Tuesday at No. 7 Nebraska before winning, 80-77, in overtime.  Purdue shot 46 3-point field goals in the game.
• Purdue’s three-game losing streak came at UCLA (69-67), vs. Illinois (88-82) and at Indiana (72-67). The only other Boilermaker loss was an 81-58 home setback to Iowa State in December.
• Guard Braden Smith paces Purdue in scoring, averaging 15.1 points to go along with 8.8 assists (second most in the nation) and 1.8 steals.  Smith has a .487/.419/.769 shooting clip with 44 3-pointers.
• Fletcher Loyer averages 13.6 points, Trey Kaufman-Renn 12.4 and Oscar Cluff 10.8.  Loyer has a team-best 62 3-point field goals, while Kaufman-Renn averages 8.8 rebounds and Cluff 7.5 rebounds.  Both Kaufman-Renn and Cluff rank in the top seven in the Big Ten in rebounding.
• Six different Purdue players have made 20 or more 3-pointers.  The team averages 9.2 3-point makes per game, while shooting 37.7 percent -- the second-best average in the league.  Overall, the Boilermakers shoot 50.3 percent, while averaging 82.8 points.
• Defensively, Purdue allows 69.1 points and limits opponents to 42.9 percent shooting (32.4 from 3).  The Boilermakers are +7.6 (36.8 to 29.3) on the boards and force 11.1 turnovers per game.
• Purdue ranks in the top-22 in the nation in KenPom’s offensive (third) and defensive efficiency (22).  The Boilermakers are leading the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.09) and are third in assists per game (19.8).

SERIES HISTORY
• Saturday’s game is the 178th meeting in the all-time series, dating back to 1908.  The Boilermakers lead the series, 99-78.
• Purdue has won the last five games in the series with the Hawkeyes’ last victory coming in the 2022 Big Ten Tournament championship game, winning 75-66.
• Iowa is 53-32 against Purdue in Iowa City, but the Boilermakers have won the last three and five of the last six contests in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. 
• The Hawkeyes’ last home win came on Dec. 22, 2020, by the score of 70-55.

 

FIRST MEETING: 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 Jan. 14
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.

LAST GAME: MARYLAND 77, IOWA 70
The Terrapins shot 53.8 percent from the floor and won the rebounding battle to snap Iowa’s six-game winning streak with a 77-70 win on Wednesday night at the XFINITY Center in College Park.
• Seniors Bennett Stirtz (32) and Tavion Banks (13) combined for 45 of Iowa’s 70 points in the game.  It was Stirtz’s second straight 30-point contest and he also had six assists.  Banks paced the team with eight rebounds.

IOWA'S BENNETT STIRTZ IS...
• eighth among active players (all levels) with 2,108 career points.  He eclipsed the 2,000-point mark on Feb. 1 at Oregon.
• the only player in the nation with 490+ points, 115+ assists, 60+ 3s, 55+ rebounds and 35+ steals.
• the only player in the nation with 490+ points, 115+ assists,  55+ rebounds and 35+ assists.
• the only player in the Big Ten (one of two power conference players and one of four nationally) with 490+ points and 115+ assists.
• looking to become the first Hawkeye in 26 years to lead the team in scoring, assists and steals.  Dean Oliver led the team in all three categories during the 1999-00 season. (The last player to lead the team in points and assists was Devyn Marble during the 2012-13 season).

IOWA IS... 
• 16-2 when scoring 70+ points this season.  The two losses were at No. 5 Purdue and at Maryland.
• 14-1 when allowing fewer than 69 points this season.
• 14-0 when shooting more free throws than its opponents.
• 14-0 when leading with 10 minutes to play.
• 14-1 when having a higher field goal percentage.
• 13-2 when out-rebounding its opponent.
• 15-2 when leading at halftime.
• 11-0 when junior Alvaro Folgueiras scores in double figures.

STIRTZ: BACK-TO-BACK BIG TEN POW
Senior Bennett Stirtz was named the Big Ten Player of the Week in back-to-back weeks, earning the distinction on Feb. 2 & Feb. 9.
• Stirtz earned his first honor on Feb. 2 after leading Iowa to wins over USC and Oregon.  The guard averaged 26 points, 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.5 rebounds, while shooting 66.7 percent from the field, 60 percent from 3-point range and was 10-for-10 from the free throw line. 
• He scored a then career-high 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting with four 3-pointers, seven assists, two steals and zero turnovers in the road win at Oregon.  Against USC, he finished with 20 points, three steals, three rebounds and two assists in the one-point win.  Stirtz made two free throws with 4.6 seconds left to send the Hawkeyes to the victory.
• Stirtz earned his second straight honor after averaging 29 points, 3.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in wins over Washington and Northwestern.  He had .606/.571/.833 shooting splits during the week.  He was also named the USBWA Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on Feb. 10.
• He finished with 22 points and five assists in the 10-point road win in Seattle before scoring a career-high 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and making all eight free throws in the home win over Northwestern.  They were his fifth and sixth-straight 20-point contests.
• Stirtz is the first Hawkeye since Keegan Murray in 2022 to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors in consecutive weeks.

MOST WINS BY A FIRST-YEAR HAWKEYE
Through 24 games, Iowa’ Ben McCollum has the third-most wins by a first-year head coach in program history with 18 victories.

Dr. Tom Davis (1986-87) - 30
Bucky O’Connor (1951-52) - 19
Ben McCollum (2025-26) - 18