MBB Notes: NCAA Second Round - vs. Florida

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 includes 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.
National Radio: NCAA Tournament contests will be broadcast on Westwood One on Sirius 209/XM 202. John Sadak (play-by-play) and Tom Crean (color) will be on the call.
TV: Sunday’s game will be televised on TBS with Tom McCarthy (play-by-play), Dan Bonner (color) and AJ Ross (sideline) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• Iowa posted an NCAA Tournament First Round win for the first time since 2021 and for the 18th time in program history.  The Hawkeyes are looking for their first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999.
• The Hawkeyes’ win over Clemson is the program’s first over a Power Conference opponent in the NCAA Tournament since 1999 (Arkansas).  
• Iowa will face a No. 1 seed for the seventh time in program history.  The Hawkeyes are 1-5 all-time against top-seeded teams with the lone victory coming over Syracuse in 1980 (88-77). Iowa radio analyst Bobby Hansen was a member of that 1980 squad.
• Head coach Ben McCollum is the second Iowa coach to win an NCAA Tournament game in year one (Dr. Tom Davis). He is one of seven first-year coaches this season to lead their teams to a first round NCAA Tournament win.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz earned Associated Press and USBWA honorable mention All-America honors in 2026. He is the first Hawkeye to garner All-America distinction since 2023.
• The Hawkeyes’ 22 wins this season are the most for the program since 2021-22.
• Stirtz has scored 30+ points three times and 20+ points 11 times in the last 17 games (18 times this season; third-most in Big Ten). 
• 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 16 games, Stirtz has played 40 minutes 10 times and has been on the court for all but 7:58 of the possible 645 minutes of game action.
• Iowa ranks 21st nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 48.8 percent.  The team also is 20th in effective field goal percentage (.519).
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 65.8 points per game -- the fewest in the Big Ten and 17th-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 NCAA TOURNAMENT
• Iowa is making its 30th NCAA Tournament appearance all-time and the first since the 2022-23 season.
• Iowa is facing a No. 1 seed for the seventh time.  The Hawkeyes beat top-seeded Syracuse (88-77) in their first game against a No. 1 seed in 1980. The program fell to top-seeded UNLV (84-81) in 1987, Arizona (99-79) in 1988, Duke (75-62) in 1992, Kentucky (75-69) in 1997 and UConn (78-68) in 1999.
• The Hawkeyes are a No. 9 seed for the second time in program history.  Iowa was previously a nine seed in 1992 where it defeated Texas (98-92) in the Round of 64 before losing to top-seeded Duke, 75-62.  
• Iowa hasn’t advanced to the second weekend of the Big Ten Tournament since the 1998-99 season in Dr. Tom Davis’ final season as head coach.  Cooper Koch’s father, J.R., was a member of that Sweet 16 squad.

IOWA'S NCAA TOURNAMENT EXPERIENCE
• Head coach Ben McCollum is 37-8 (.822) all-time in NCAA Tournament play at the Division I and Division II levels.  He won four NCAA Division II titles at Northwest Missouri State (2017, 2019, 2021, 2022).  
• McCollum is 2-1 in the Division I NCAA Tournament, leading Drake to the second round in 2025.  The Bulldogs upset No. 6 seed Missouri in the Round of 64.
• Iowa’s roster has a combined 19 games of NCAA Tournament experience heading into Sunday’s game -- Bennett Stirtz (3), Cam Manyawu (3), Isaia Howard (3), Kael Combs (3), Tavion Banks (3), Alvaro Folgueiras (2), Cooper Koch (1) and Tate Sage (1).
• In three career games in Division I March Madness, Stirtz is averaging 19.3 points, 4.7 assists, three rebounds and one steal, while shooting .446/.421/.800.  He finished with 16 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the victory over Clemson.  
• Stirtz had 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting (3-of-3 3PT) and four assists in the win over Missouri in the opening round last season before scoring 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting with eight assists and three rebounds against Texas Tech.
• In his last two NCAA Tournament games, Combs has averaged 14 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while shooting 62.5 percent (10-of-16) from the field.  Combs finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting last season in the Round of 32 against Texas Tech.
• In two career NCAA Tournament games, Folgueiras is averaging 14.5 points and seven rebounds, while shooting .450 from the field. He had a double-double for Robert Morris against second-seeded Alabama in the Round of 64 in 2025, finishing with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting with 10 rebounds and four assists.

SCOUTING FLORIDA
• The Gators advanced to the Round of 32 with a 114-55 victory over Prairie View A&M on Friday night.  The 59-point win is the second-largest margin of victory in a men’s NCAA Tournament game all-time.
• The win moved Florida’s record to 27-7 and the team finished 16-2 in the Southeastern Conference.  Before losing to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament semifinalist, the Gators were on a 12-game winning streak.
• Four of Florida’s seven losses came in the first nine games of the season.
• The Gators have five players average in double figures and another averaging 9.7 points.  All-American Thomas Haugh paces the team with 17 points on 46.5 percent shooting to go along with 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists, one block and one steal.
• Alex Condon averaging 14.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, Boogie Fland averages 11.7 and  points, 3.4 assists and 1.8 steals, Xaivian Lee 11.4 points and 4.2 assists, while Rueben Chinyelu averages 11.2 points and 11.5 rebounds. 
• Urban Klavzar has a team-high 70 3-pointers off the bench, but the Gators shoot just 31.2 percent from long range this season.
• The Gators are +15.1 on the boards (45.7 to 30.6) and the team averages 5.1 blocks per game.

SERIES HISTORY
• Sunday’s game is the first meeting in the all-time series between Iowa and Florida.
• It is the first time Iowa has played the defending National Champion in the NCAA Tournament since 1956 when the Hawkeyes faced undefeated, Bill Russell-led San Francisco.  The Dons won, 83-71.
• The Hawkeyes are 1-0 against SEC opponents this season, downing Ole Miss, 74-69, on Nov. 25 at the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs.
• Iowa is 4-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament play against SEC opponents, dropping its last four contests.  The Hawkeyes’ last win over an SEC opponent in March Madness came against Arkansas, 82-72, on March 13, 1999.

LAST GAME: IOWA 67, CLEMSON 61
The Hawkeyes jumped out to an 18-8 lead and never trailed in downing eighth-seeded Clemson, 67-61, on Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Tampa.  Iowa won despite having a lower field goal (.383 to .407) and 3-point (.280 to .346) percentage, but Iowa was 24-of-31 at the line; Clemson was 8-of-12.
• The Hawkeyes dominated the Tigers on the glass, 40-27, which included 15 offensive rebounds.  Iowa turned the o-boards into 16 second-chance points.
• Three players -- Bennett Stirtz (16), Kael Combs (15) and Alvaro Folgueiras (14) -- landed in double figures.  Combs scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half.

NCAA TIDBITS
• Junior Cam Manyawu’s 10 rebounds were the most by a Hawkeye in an NCAA Tournament game since Greg Brunner’s 10 against Northwestern State in 2006.  
• Manyawu’s 10 boards are the most by a Hawkeye in an NCAA Tournament victory since Ryan Bowen had 16 against Virginia in 1997.
• Iowa had seven different players grab four or more rebounds in an NCAA Tournament contest since at least 1960. 

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.

IN SELECT HAWKEYE COMPANY
Head coach Ben McCollum is now one of two Iowa coaches, along with Dr. Tom Davis, in his first year to lead the Hawkeyes to:
• 20+ wins (now 22)
• an NCAA Tournament appearance
• an NCAA Tournament victory