Stirtz Repeats as Big Ten Player of the Week

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa senior Bennett Stirtz has been named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week, the announcement was made Monday by the league office.  It is Stirtz’s second straight weekly honor.

He shares the accolade with Indiana’s Lamar Wilkerson.

The Liberty, Missouri, native earned the distinction after averaging 29 points, 3.5 assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals in Hawkeye victories over Washington and Northwestern.  Stirtz shot 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the field, 57.1 percent (8-of-14) from 3-point range and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) from the free throw line.  He played all but four seconds in the two games.

Stirtz opened the week with a 22-point, five-assist game in Iowa’s 10-point road win at Washington.  He finished 8-of-13 from the field with four 3-point field goals.

The guard followed it up with a career-best performance, finishing with a career-high 36 points, making 12-of-20 field goals, 4-of-6 3-pointers and all eight of his free throws in a six-point win over Northwestern.  It was Iowa’s sixth straight victory.

His 36-point 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.  Stirtz has scored 20+ points in six straight games, the longest streak by an Iowa player since Keegan Murray in 2021-22 and the most by a Hawkeye guard since downtown Freddy Brown’s 16-straight 20+ point contests in 1970-71.

Over his last three games, Stirtz has scored 90 points – the most since Murray’s 91 points in Feb. 2022.  Stirtz’s scoring average in 12 Big Ten games is up to 22.9 points – second-best in the conference.

Stirtz is the first Hawkeye to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors in consecutive weeks since Murray in 2022. 

Iowa (18-5, 8-4) returns to action Wednesday, traveling to College Park to face Maryland at 5 p.m. (CT) at the XFINITY Center.  The game will be televised on FS1.