Hawkeyes Dominate Ohio State, 74-57

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Ohio State, 74-57, on Wednesday night on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena, securing its first 20-win season since 2021-22. The Hawkeyes improved to 20-8 overall and 10-7 in Big Ten play.

Trailing 14-2 in the first five minutes following an 8-0 Ohio State run, Iowa opened the game 0-of-5 from the field. The Hawkeyes answered with a 21-1 run over the next eight minutes, forcing an eight-minute scoring drought as the Buckeyes missed nine straight shots. After falling behind by 12, Iowa closed the half on a 35-9 run and held Ohio State to 2-of-14 shooting during that stretch.

After 20 minutes, Iowa led 37-23, holding the Buckeyes to their lowest first-half scoring total of the season.

Senior Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 10 first-half points, while junior Cam Manyawu added eight. Seven different Hawkeyes scored in the opening half, as Iowa dominated the paint, 20-4. The Hawkeyes shot 13-of-24 (54.2 percent) from the field, 3-of-9 (33.3 percent) from 3-point range and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line.

Ohio State trimmed the deficit to 10 early in the second half before Iowa responded with an 11-2 run to push the lead to 19. Back-to-back dunks from senior Tavion Banks and junior Alvaro Folgueiras gave the Hawkeyes a 66-43 advantage, matching their largest lead of the game. Iowa maintained control the rest of the way and never trailed in the second half.

Stirtz led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 8-of-11 from the field and 3-of-6 from beyond the arc. He added three assists and two steals. Folgueiras recorded a season-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and grabbed five rebounds. Manyawu finished with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Banks rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.

Iowa shot 27-of-47 (57.4 percent) from the field and 5-of-18 (27.8 percent) from 3-point range. The Hawkeyes converted 15-of-17 (88.2 percent) from the free throw line. Iowa outscored the Buckeyes in the paint, 44-18, and won the rebounding battle, 28-23.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“Ohio State has been playing as well as any team in the league, we obviously had a heightened awareness to what they did. I thought we executed our game plan, for the most part throughout the game. I think to start, it wasn’t our best start, but that’s kind of par for the course right now. It’s just like oh, we’re going to start bad and then maybe we’ll make a comeback. But then after that we buckled down defensively. I thought we controlled the game, offensively. We did a good job, and again, we appreciate the crowd everybody that comes and cheers, we appreciate it all.”

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes notched their 20th victory of the season, downing Ohio State, 74-57, on Wednesday night inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• After falling behind 14-2 to start the game, Iowa outscored the Buckeyes, 35-9, over the final 15 minutes of the first half to take a 37-23 lead into the break. Iowa never led by fewer than 10 points in the second half.
• It is the first time this season that the Buckeyes have lost back-to-back games.
• The victory was Iowa’s 20th of the season – the first 20-win campaign since 2021-22. 
  • It is the 15th consecutive season a Ben McCollum coached team has won 20 or more games.
  • McCollum is one of two Iowa head coaches (Dr. Tom Davis) to win 20 games in his first season.
• The win is Iowa’s 10th victory in Big Ten Conference play, improving the team’s record to 10-7.
• Iowa improves to 9-7 in Quad 1 and Quad 2 games this season.
• The Hawkeyes move to 14-2 at home this season – the most home victories since the 2022-23 campaign.
• Iowa had four players land in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (22), Alvaro Folgueiras (20), Cam Manyawu (12), Tavion Banks (10).
• Stirtz finished with 20+ points for the 10th time in the last 11 games and for the 17th time this season. 
  • He finished 8-of-11 from the floor and 3-of-6 from 3-point range, while having three assists and two steals. 
  • He didn’t commit a turnover in 39 minutes – his 10th such game this season.
• Folgueiras scored a season-high 20 points, making 8-of-10 field goals to go along with four rebounds and five assists.
  • His eight field goals were a season high and he also tied a season-best with five assists.
• Manyawu made 5-of-7 field goals en route to 12 points – his first game in double figures since Jan. 14 at Purdue – and a team-high seven rebounds.
  • Manyawu has been in double digits eight times this season.
• It was the second time this season that Iowa had two 20-point scorers in the same game (at Indiana).
• Iowa’s defense held Buckeye guard Bruce Thornton to zero points in the first half (a first since Dec. 14, 2024) and 10 points in the game (his second lowest scoring output this season). 
• The Hawkeyes limited Ohio State to a season low 57 points – 23.4 points below its season average.
  • All but two Iowa opponents have been held below its season scoring average this season.
• Iowa shot 57.4 percent from the field, improving to 13-2 on the year when shooting 50 percent or higher.
• The Hawkeyes out-rebounded Ohio State, 28-23, and forced 11 turnovers.
• Iowa fell behind 14-2 over the first five minutes as Ohio State made five of its first seven field goals, including its first four 3-pointers to force an early Hawkeye timeout.
  • The Hawkeyes responded with an 18-0, 21-1 and 29-4 run over an 11:59 stretch and outscored the Buckeyes, 35-9, over the final 15 minutes to turn a 12-point deficit into a 37-23 halftime lead. Iowa held Ohio State scoreless for an 8:19 stretch to start the run.
  • The Buckeyes made five of their first seven shots to start the game and went 2-of-15 over the final 15 minutes.  The team’s 23 first-half points were a season low. 

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Saturday, facing Penn State at 11 a.m. (CT) in University Park. The game will be televised on BTN.