MBB Notes -- at Maryland

 

OPPONENT	RV/#25 Iowa at Maryland
DATE	Wednesday, Feb. 11
LOCATION	College Park, Md. | XFINITY Center
KICKOFF	5 p.m. (CT)
TV	FS1
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: Wednesday’s game will be televised on FS1 with Brandon Gaudin (play-by-play) and LaPhonso Ellis (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes bring a six-game winning streak into College Park, where the team is looking for the season sweep of the Terrapins for the second time in program history.  
• Iowa’s six-game Big Ten winning streak is the longest for the program since 2015-16 (when it won seven straight to open league play.) The team has won three straight league road games for the first time since 2021-22 (four straight). 
• Iowa has 18 wins and eight in Big Ten play, surpassing the 2024-25 win totals.  The team is 18-5 overall (8-4 in league play), the team’s best start through 23 games since 2018-19.  The 8-4 conference mark is the team’s best since 2015-16. 
• Senior Bennett Stirtz has scored 20+ points in six straight games (13 times this season) and has posted career-highs in two of the last three games. He has scored 90 points during the three-game stretch, the most since Keegan Murray’s 91-point stretch in Feb., 2022.
• Stirtz scored 32 points and had seven assists at Oregon on Feb. 1 before finishing with a career-best 36 points on 12-of-20 shooting (four 3s) in the win over Northwestern.  The 36 points 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 has 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.
• Four of Iowa’s five losses have come against top 20 opponents and four of the five defeats have come on the road.
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras has scored in double figures in three of the last four 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 22.9 points to go along with  4.1 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals with a .517/.405/.833 shooting clip. He has eight 20-point contests in league play.
• Iowa ranks 13th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 51 percent.  The team also is 12th in effective field goal percentage (.585).
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 63.8 points per game -- the fewest in the Big Ten and eighth-fewest nationally. Iowa has held six opponents under 60 points this season.
• Iowa is 23rd in KenPom’s defensive ratings, the program’s highest rating since 2005-06 when it was No. 1 in the nation. 
• Iowa has held every opponent below its team season scoring average on the year.

SCOUTING MARYLAND

• The Terrapins have dropped four of the last five and eight of the last 10 games, falling to 9-14 overall and 2-10 in Big Ten play.  Maryland went on the road to win at Minnesota, 67-62, on Sunday in Minneapolis.
• Maryland’s two Big Ten wins have come over Penn State (96-73) and at Minnesota (67-62).  
• Five of the Terps’ nine wins have come at home. 
• The Terps are playing without leading scorer and rebounder Pharrel Payne, who averages 17.5 points and 7.2 rebounds.  Payne’s last game came Dec. 10 against Iowa.
• Guard David Coit leads the team in scoring (15.2), assists (62) and 3-point field goals (60). He shoots 43.2 percent from the floor and 38 percent from long range.  
• Coit has five 20-point games this season, including two 30-point and two 40-point contests. He scored 41 in a win over Mount St. Mary’s in November and 43 in the win over Penn State, while scored 31 against Michigan and 30 at USC.  
• He finished with 29 points on 9-of-13 shooting four 3-pointers in Sunday’s win at Minnesota.
• Darius Adams (11.7) and Soloman Washington (10.1) also average in double figures.  Washington also pulls in a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game.
• The Terps average 71.8 points, but give up 79 points per game.  Maryland shoots 40.8 percent from the field and 32.1 percent from 3-point range, while opponents shot .475/.382. 
• Maryland has 52 more turnovers (289) than assists (237) and is -0.3 on the glass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Wednesday’s game is the 20th meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Maryland.  The Terps are leading, 10-9.
• The Hawkeyes have lost the last two meetings in College Park, falling 78-66 in 2024 and 101-75 in 2005.  Iowa is 3-5 all-time at the XFINITY Center.
• Iowa snapped a three-game losing streak to the Terps with an 83-64 win in Iowa City on Dec. 6.  It was head coach Ben McCollum’s first Big Ten victory.

 

FIRST MEETING: IOWA 83, MARYLAND 63
The Hawkeyes notched their first Big Ten victory of the season, downing Maryland, 83-64, on Dec. 6 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.  Iowa had four players land in double figures with senior Bennett Stirtz leading the way with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
• The Terps lost despite making 24 free throws (to Iowa’s six) and Maryland attempted 38 free throws (to Iowa’s 12).
• The Hawkeyes had a 44-20 advantage in paint points and shot 54 percent from the field with nine 3-point field goals.
• Iowa jumped on Maryland in the first half, using a 12-0, 17-2 and 19-4 run to build a 30-13 lead.  
• Junior Cam Manyawu (12 points and seven rebounds), freshman Tate Sage (12 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Cooper Koch (11 points) were also in double digits.

LAST GAME: IOWA 76, NORTHWESTERN 70
Senior Bennett Stirtz scored a career-high 36 points, leading Iowa to a 76-70 win over Northwestern on Sunday in Iowa City.  The Hawkeyes won despite having lower overall field goal, 3-point and free throw percentages.  Iowa scored 14 points off 10 Wildcat turnovers and out-rebounded NU, 34-22.
• Tavion Banks was the only other Hawkeye in double digits, finishing with 13 points and seven rebounds.

IOWA'S BENNETT STIRTZ IS...
• eighth among active players (all levels) with 2,076 career points.  He eclipsed the 2,000-point mark on Feb. 1 at Oregon.
• the only player in the nation with 450+ points, 110+ assists, 55+ 3s, 50+ rebounds and 35+ steals.
• the only player in the nation with 450+ points, 110+ assists, 35+ steals and 50+ rebounds.
• the only player in the Big Ten (one of two power conference players) with 450+ points and 110+ assists (one of nine nationally).
• 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... 
• 16-1 when scoring 70+ points this season.  The lone loss was at No. 5 Purdue.
• 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 has been 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 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-poin 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 23 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