MBB Notes: Big Ten Tournament vs. Ohio State

 

OPPONENT	Iowa vs. Ohio State
DATE	Thursday, March 11
LOCATION	Chicago, Ill. | United Center
KICKOFF	11 a.m. (CT)
TV	BTN
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: Thursday’s game will be televised on BTN with Jeff Levering (play-by-play), Don MacLean (color) and Rick Pizzo (sideline) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes are facing Ohio State for the fourth straight year in the Big Ten Tournament. Iowa has won at least one game in six of the last eight tournaments.
• Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch scored a career-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting with five 3-pointers in Iowa’s Big Ten Tournament win over Maryland. In Iowa’s last three games away from Iowa City, Koch has averaged 18.3 points with 16 3-point field goals.  
• Senior Bennett Stirtz finished with 17 points, six rebounds and eight assists in the win over the Terps. He is the first Hawkeye with those numbers  in a BTT game.  If you add in his two steals, he’s the fifth Big Ten player all-time to do that in a BTT contest.
• The Hawkeyes’ 21 wins this season are the most for the program since 2021-22.
• Head coach Ben McCollum’s has led his team to 15th straight 20-win seasons and he is one of two Hawkeye head coaches (Dr. Tom Davis) to win at least 20 games in year one.
• Stirtz has scored 30+ points three times and 20+ points in 11 of the last 15 games (18 times this season; third-most in Big Ten). His 36 points against Northwestern 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 finished third in the Big Ten in scoring in league-only games, averaging 22.2 points to go along with 3.8 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.4 steals with a .500/.373/.839 shooting clip. He had three 30-point and 13 20-point contests in league play.
• Over his last 14 games, Stirtz has played 40 minutes nine times and has been on the court for all but 6:34 of the possible 565 minutes of game action.
• Iowa ranks 26th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 49.1 percent.  The team also is 25th in effective field goal percentage (.563).
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 65.8 points per game -- the fewest in the Big Ten and 15th-fewest nationally. Iowa has held eight opponents at 60 points or less this season -- the most since 2014-15.
• Iowa has held all but three opponents below its team season scoring average on the year.

IOWA IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
• Iowa has posted a 24-24 record in Big Ten Tournament games. The Hawkeyes earned tournament titles in 2001, 2006, and 2022 and lost in the title game in 2002. Only Michigan State (36), Ohio State (34), Illinois (35), Wisconsin (32) and Michigan (27) have more wins. Michigan State has won six tournament titles, Ohio State and Illinois have won four, Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan have won three, while Purdue has two tournament titles. (Ohio State was forced to vacate its 2002 title.)
• The Hawkeyes won the 2001 Big Ten Tournament title at the United Center in Chicago.  
• Iowa has played 11 different teams in the event, having met each team except Nebraska, Maryland, USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington at least once. Iowa (2001 as a No. 6 seed; 2022 as a No. 5 seed) and Michigan (2017 as a No. 8 seed; 2018 as a No. 5 seed) are the only teams to claim the tournament title by winning four games in four days.
• Iowa has been eliminated by the tournament champion six times, including Michigan in the 1998 quarterfinals and 2018 first round, Michigan State in the 2000 quarterfinals and 2012 quarterfinals, Ohio State in the 2002 title game, and Illinois in the 2021 semifinals. 

SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes closed out the regular season with a three-game winning streak to improve their record to 20-11 overall and 12-8 in Big Ten play.  Ohio State finished eighth in the league standings to earn a double bye at the Big Ten Tournament.
• Ohio State posted wins over Purdue, at Penn State and Indiana to cap the regular season.  It was the team’s longest winning streak in Big Ten play this season.
• Second-team All-Big Ten selection Bruce Thornton paces the team in scoring, averaging 20.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists and 1.2 steals.  He shoots 55.8 percent from the field -- the highest percentage by a guard in the league.  
• John Mobley, Jr., averages 15.9 points and 2.8 assists, while pacing the team with 89 3-pointers.  He shoots 42.4 percent from long range.  Devin Royal averages 14 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds, while Christoph Tilly adds 11 points and 4.7 rebounds.
• The Buckeyes average 80.45 points per game, while shooting 49.5 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from 3-point land.  Ohio State averages 16.5 free throws per contest.
• Defensively, OSU allows 72.97 points, while opponents shoot 43.7 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from long range.  The Buckeyes are +2.4 on the glass and force 10.7 turnovers per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Thursday’s meeting is the 174th in the all-time series between Iowa and Ohio State, dating back to 1915. The Hawkeyes lead the series, 87-86.
• The two teams had split the last 10 and 20 meetings before Iowa downed the Buckeyes, 74-57, on Feb. 25 in Iowa City.  
• Iowa is 3-4 against Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament.  The Hawkeyes have faced the Buckeyes in the tournament in each of the last three seasons.
• The Buckeyes won in 2023 in Chicago (73-69) and in 2024 in Minneapolis (90-78), while the Hawkeyes were victorious in 2025 in Indianapolis (77-70).  
• The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes lost in the 2002 Big Ten Tournament title game to second-seeded Ohio State, 81-64.  Iowa beat the Buckeyes, 67-60, to win the 2006 Big Ten Tournament crown.

FIRST MEETING: IOWA 74, OHIO STATE 57
After falling behind 14-2 in the first five minutes, Iowa outscored Ohio State, 35-9, to close out the half to run away with a 74-57 victory on Feb. 25 inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena to secure its 20th win. The Hawkeyes held the Buckeyes to a season-low 57 points, including just 23 points in the first half. Iowa held leading scorer Bruce Thornton scoreless in the opening 20 minutes and allowed him to score 10 points in the game -- 10 below his average.
• Iowa shot 57.4 percent from the field and had a 44-18 advantage in points in the paint. The team had four players land in double figures with Bennett Stirtz leading the way with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting (3-of-6 3-point). Junior Alvaro Folgueiras netted 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting to go along with four rebounds and five assists, junior Cam Manyawu had 12 points and seven rebounds and Tavion Banks added 10 points.

LAST GAME: IOWA 75, MARYLAND 64 
The Hawkeyes used a 21-0 run -- the largest run by a Big Ten team against another Big Ten team this season -- in the second half en route to a 75-64 victory over Maryland on Wednesday in the second round of the 2026 Big Ten Tournament.  Iowa trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half and 26-25 at the break.
• Iowa’s starters scored 63 of the team’s 75 points with redshirt freshman Cooper Koch leading the way with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting.  He made five 3-pointers in the game.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz finished with 17 points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals, while Tavion Banks (12) and Cam Manyawu (10) were also in double digits.

IOWA'S BENNETT STIRTZ IS...
• seventh among active players (all levels) with 2,262 career points.  He eclipsed the 2,000-point mark on Feb. 1 at Oregon.
• a first-team All-Big Ten selection by the media and a second-team honoree by the league coaches.  He is the first Hawkeye to garner first team honors since the 2022-23 season.
• is 14-3 in win or go home games in his collegiate career (4-1 as freshman at Northwest Missouri State, 5-1 as sophomore at Northwest, 4-1 at Drake, 1-0 at Iowa).
• the only player in the nation with 625+ points, 135+ assists, 75 3-pointers, 75+ rebounds and 45+ steals.
• one of three players in the nation with 625+ points, 135+ assists,  75+ rebounds and 45+ steals.
• the only player in the Big Ten (one of two power conference players) with 625+ points and 135+ assists.  
• is the second Iowa player all-time with 600+ points and 100 assists+ in a single season, joining Andre Woolridge.
• is the sixth Hawkeye all-time to have 500 points and 100 assists in a single season, joining B.J. Armstrong, Roy Devyn Marble, Ronnie Lester, Dean Oliver and Andre Woolridge.
• averaged 22.2 points in Big Ten play this season.  In the last 20 years, only Luka Garza (26.2 ppg.) in 2019-20 averaged more points than Stirtz in Big Ten contests.
• the first Hawkeye since Keegan Murray (2021-22) to record 500+ points, 60+ 3-pointers and 35+ steals.  He is the first Iowa guard to do it since Matt Gatens (2011-12).
• 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).

CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE 
• Head coach Ben McCollum has coached teams to 10 straight conference tournament titles -- nine MIAA and one Missouri Valley.  McCollum’s teams have won 31 straight conference tournament games, dating back to 2016.
• Bennett Stirtz, Cam Manyawu, Isaia Howard, Kael Combs and Tavion Banks won the 2025 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament while at Drake.  The Bulldogs won three games in three days over No. 8 seed Southern Illinois, No. 4 seed Belmont and No. 2 seed Bradley to claim the title.
• Stirtz also won MIAA Tournament titles as a freshman and sophomore at Northwest Missouri State.  He is 10-0 all-time in conference tournament games.
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras helped Robert Morris win the 2025 Horizon League Tournament as the Colonials posted wins over eighth-seeded Wright State, sixth-seeded Oakland and fourth-seeded Youngstown State to win the title.
• Senior Brendan Hausen has six games of postseason experience, playing in four Big East Tournament games at Villanova and two Big 12 Tournament games at Kansas State.  He has a 3-3 postseason record.

STIRTZ JOINS AN EXCLUSIVE LIST
Iowa’s Bennett Stirtz became the 11th college basketball player to record 2,000+ points, 550+ assists, 450+ rebounds and 225+ steals during his career in Iowa’s game against Michigan on March 5.  He is the first to accomplish the feat since 2022.

MOST WINS BY A FIRST-YEAR HAWKEYE
Ben McCollum is one of two Hawkeye head coaches to win 20 or more games in their first season with the program. 

Dr. Tom Davis (1986-87) - 30
Ben McCollum (2025-26) - 21