Hawkeyes Top Northwestern, 76-70

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Northwestern, 76-70, on Sunday afternoon to win its sixth straight game. The Hawkeyes improve to 18-5 on the season and 8-4 in conference play.

The Hawkeyes got off to a slow start, opening the game 4-of-15 from the field and 0-of-5 from 3-point range, trailing Northwestern, 15-13, with just under nine-minutes remaining in the half. Before the offense settled in, Iowa missed eight straight field goals while weathering a nearly four-minute scoring drought.

The Hawkeyes used a 14-3 run and a 9-0 run to build a 36-30 lead, marking its first lead since they led, 11-9. Iowa would make five straight field goals in that span as it built a seven-point lead, the largest lead by any team in the first 20 minutes. At the end of the opening half Iowa led the Wildcats, 39-35.

Senior Bennett Stirtz paced Iowa with 14 points, shooting 5-of-10 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Fellow senior Tavion Banks added nine points and three rebounds, while shooting 5-of-5 from the charity stripe.

The Hawkeyes shot 11-of-25 (44 percent) from the field and 0-of-5 from 3-point range, marking its first half all season going without a 3-pointer. Iowa converted on 17-of-22 (77.3 percent) from the free-throw line. The Wildcats came into the game leading the country, averaging 8.2 turnovers per game and the Hawkeyes forced eight turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

The Hawkeyes built on their lead in the second half, leading by 14, its largest of the game at the 13-minute mark. Northwestern battled back, cutting Iowa’s deficit to three before a Stirtz 3-pointer pushed Iowa’s lead back to six. The Hawkeyes led by no more than nine the rest of the way as the Wildcats refused to go away.

A Wildcat 3-pointer cut the Iowa lead to three with two-minutes remaining. A layup from Stirtz gave Iowa a five-point cushion and a dunk from redshirt freshman Cooper Koch was the exclamation point, giving Iowa a 76-70 advantage with under 30 seconds remaining.

Stirtz marked a career-high 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He was also perfect at the free-throw line, making all eight of his attempts. Banks added 13 points while also leading all players on the glass with seven rebounds.

The Hawkeyes shot 24-of-53 (45.3 percent) from the field and 5-of-16 (31.3 percent) from beyond the arc. Iowa converted on 23-of-29 (79.3 percent) from the free-throw line. The Hawkeyes outscored Northwestern in the paint, 36-20, on the way to its sixth straight victory.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“We have to make sure that we come out ready. Coach Collins and Northwestern, he’s as good as any coach in the league. I don’t just say that just because they’ve had a rough stretch, so you just kind of pat someone on the back, that’s not the case whatsoever. I’ve watched him for years. They run elite sets, they play their butt off, they understand how to defend, they understand all those things. As those freshmen become sophomores and juniors, they are going to be formidable. But our guys have to understand this is the Big Ten and you need to make sure that you’re consistently at your best.

Northwestern had a lot to do with that. They came out of a game against Illinois where they just did not play well and obviously Illinois played really well. You could see there was a different level of hunger. I didn’t think we had a great deal of hunger to start the game. I thought we then figured it out, but we made a lot of losing plays again down the stretch where we just fouled and didn’t get in coverage again. There are things that we need to continue to correct and continue to grow with. But it’s the Big Ten, you’re not going to win everything by 40 points, you know, it’s not easy like that. It's good coaches and good players and Northwestern is one of them.” 

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes won their sixth straight game, downing Northwestern, 76-70, on Super Bowl Sunday inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• Iowa improves to 18-5 overall – matching the team’s best record through 23 games since the 2018-19 season.
• The team is 8-4 in Big Ten play – the team’s best start in league action since the 2015-16 season (10-1 start).
• It is the first time since the 2015-16 season that Iowa has won six consecutive Big Ten contests.
• Iowa improves to 12-1 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
• The Hawkeyes have won 11 straight over Northwestern in Iowa City, dating back to the 2012-13 season.
• Iowa had two players finish in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (36), Tavion Banks (13)
• Stirtz scored 20+ for the sixth straight game, netting a career-high 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting, 4-of-6 from 3-point range and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He also had two assists and two steals. He has scored 30+ in two of the last three contests.
  • Stirtz’s 36 points are the most by a Hawkeye since Luka Garza (36) in 2021 and are tied for the fourth-most by a player in Carver-Hawkeye Arena history. 
  • Stirtz is the first Iowa player to score 20+ in six straight contests since Keegan Murray during the 2021-22 season.
  • He is the first Hawkeye guard to score 20+ in six straight games since downtown Freddy Brown during the 1970-71 season (16 straight 20+ point contests).
  • Stirtz has scored 90 points over his last three games, the most since Keegan Murray (24, 37, 30) scored 91 in a three-game stretch in Feb. 2022.
  • Stirtz finished 4-of-6 from 3-point range – his third straight game with four 3s. He has made two or more 3s in nine of the last 10 games.
• Iowa finished 23-of-29 from the free throw line; NU was 20-of-22.
  • The Hawkeyes are 14-0 this season when shooting more free throws than their opponent.
• The Hawkeyes out-rebounded Northwestern, 34-22, moving to 13-2 when having more rebounds.
• Iowa finished 5-of-16 from the 3-point line – the fewest makes in a game since Dec. 29 against UMass Lowell. 
• The Hawkeyes trailed by as many as six points in the first half. Iowa used a 10-0 and 17-8 run to build a 39-35 lead at the break. 

UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Wednesday, traveling to College Park for a Big Ten road game at Maryland. Game time is set for 5 p.m. (CT) from the XFINITY Center.