Hawkeyes Down Maryland, 75-64, in Big Ten Tournament

CHICAGO – The University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated Maryland, 75-64, in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday afternoon at the United Center. The Hawkeyes improve to 21-11 on the season.

After holding a 10-6 lead at the 12-minute mark of the first half, Maryland answered with a 15-0 run over three minutes to take a 21-10 advantage. Iowa endured a scoring drought of more than three minutes during the stretch, missing four straight field goals.

The Hawkeyes responded late in the half, trimming the deficit to one before the break. Iowa outscored Maryland, 15-5, over the final eight minutes, closing the half by making four of its last five shots while the Terrapins hit just one of their final 12. Maryland held a 26-25 lead at halftime.

Six different Hawkeyes scored in the first half, with no player finishing with more than five points. Iowa shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the field and 2-of-10 from 3-point range.

Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch sparked Iowa to start the second half, knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hawkeyes their first lead since 10-8. Senior Bennett Stirtz followed with consecutive 3-pointers as Iowa scored 21 unanswered points to build a 17-point lead.

Maryland cut the deficit to nine with seven minutes remaining following a 6-0 run, but Koch ended the momentum with his fifth 3-pointer of the game. The Hawkeyes maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way to secure their first postseason victory of the season.

Koch led Iowa with a career-high 19 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Stirtz finished with 17 points, eight assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Senior Tavion Banks added 12 points and three steals, while junior Cam Manyawu rounded out Hawkeyes in double digits with 10 points.

Iowa shot 27-of-53 (50.9 percent) from the field and 9-of-23 (39.1 percent) from 3-point range while converting 12-of-20 free throws. The Hawkeyes forced 16 Maryland turnovers and converted them into 21 points while outscoring the Terrapins in the paint, 36-24.

HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“First off, excellent season by Maryland. They gave us fits this game, and the second time we played them they beat us. Coach Williams does a good job. He's going to get that thing going pretty good. I thought our kids, after the first 10 to 12 minutes, kind of settled in. I don't know what it was, if it was just the jitters or not used to the environment.

The concentration was pretty low to start, and I think that probably had something to do with the environment maybe, not because it was a big time -- it is a big-time place, but more just the conference tournament type of deal. Then we regrouped, settled in, and executed our scout, which was really good."

GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes advanced to the third round of the Big Ten Tournament with a 75-64 victory over 17th-seeded Maryland on Wednesday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago.
• The win is Iowa’s 21st of the season – the most for the program since the 2021-22 season.
• Head coach Ben McCollum has won 31 consecutive conference tournament postseason games dating back to 2016.
• Iowa improves to 4-0 on neutral courts this season.
• The Hawkeyes have won at least one game in six of the last eight Big Ten Tournaments.
• Trailing 31-27 early in the second half, Iowa used a 21-0 run over a 5 1/2-minute stretch – fueled by four straight 3-pointers from Cooper Koch and Bennett Stirtz -- to open a 17-point lead. The 21-0 run was the team’s longest of the season.
  • Iowa went 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half.
• Iowa had four players finish in double figures: Cooper Koch (19), Bennett Stirtz (17), Tavion Banks (12), Cam Manyawu (10)
• Koch finished with a career-high 19 points, making 6-of-10 field goals and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. 
  • Koch has tied or set a career-high in back-to-back games and in three of the last four contests.
  • He made back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to give Iowa a 36-34 lead – the team’s first lead since 10-9 in the first half.
  • Koch has made five or more 3-pointers in three of the last four games. He has 17 3-point field goals during the stretch.
• Stirtz was on triple-double watch, finishing with 17 points, a team-high six rebounds and eight assists to go along with two steals.
  • It was his 11th game with six or more assists this season.
• The Hawkeyes shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent (16-of-26) in the second half.
  • Iowa is 13-5 when it has a higher field goal percentage than their opponent this season.
• Iowa finished 9-of-23 from 3-point range in the victory, which is tied for the seventh-most for the program in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • The Hawkeyes outscored Maryland, 36-24, in the paint.
• Iowa finished with 19 assists – the most for the team since Jan. 11 against Illinois. 
• Iowa scored 21 points off 16 Terrapin turnovers.
• The Hawkeyes won for the sixth time when losing the rebounding battle (6-6 record).
  • Maryland outrebounded Iowa, 34-25.
• Maryland went on a 15-0 run over a 3-minute stretch, to take a 21-10 lead at the 8:40 mark.  The Hawkeyes followed with a 10-3 run over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to 24-20.  The Terps went 1-of-9 during the stretch.
  • Iowa trailed 26-25 at the half despite limiting the Terps to 37.5 percent first-half shooting. 

UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Thursday, facing eighth-seeded Ohio State at 11 a.m. (CT) in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. The game will be televised on BTN.