MBB Notes - Regular Season Finale at No. 9 Nebraska

 

OPPONENT	Iowa at #9 Nebraska
DATE	Sunday, March 8
LOCATION	Lincoln, Neb. | Pinnacle Bank Arena
KICKOFF	4:10 p.m. (CT)
TV	FOX
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: Sunday’s game will be televised by FOX with Connor Onion (play-by-play) and Nick Bahe (color) on the call.

OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes played the first Big Ten game of 2025-26 season on Dec. 2 at Michigan State and play the final regular season contest Sunday at Nebraska.  
• Iowa, which is 38th with a 1.94 WAB ranking, has won four straight over the Huskers.
• The Hawkeyes notched their first 20-win season since 2021-22 in its 74-57 victory over Ohio State on Feb. 25 in Iowa City.  
• It is head coach Ben McCollum’s 15th straight 20-win season and he is now one of two Hawkeye head coaches (Dr. Tom Davis) to win at least 20 games in year one.
• Iowa posted a signature victory, downing No. 9 Nebraska, 57-52, on Feb. 17 in Iowa City. It was the program’s first top 10 home win since 2019.  
• The last time Iowa has won two games against top 10 opponents came during the 2015-16 season (No. 1 Michigan State, No. 4 Michigan State).
• Senior Bennett Stirtz has scored 30+ points three times and 20+ points in 11 of the last 13 games (18 times this season; tied for second-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 is second in the Big Ten in scoring in league-only games, averaging 22.8 points to go along with 3.8 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 steals with a .503/.378/.846 shooting clip. He has three 30-point and 13 20-point contests in league play.
• Over his last 12 games, Stirtz has played 40 minutes eight times and has been on the court for all but 5:05 of the possible 480 minutes of game action.
• Stirtz has been named to the Naismith Trophy College Player of the Year Late-Season Team, the Wooden Award Late Midseason Top 20 and the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Top 10 lists.
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras scored a season-high 20 points, making 8-of-10 field goals, to go along with four rebounds and five assists in Iowa’s win over Ohio State. The Hawkeyes are 12-1 when Folgueiras lands in double figures.
• Iowa ranks 27th nationally in field goal percentage, shooting 49.1 percent.  The team also is 21st in effective field goal percentage (.556).
• The Hawkeyes are allowing 65.2 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 two opponents below its team season scoring average on the year.

SCOUTING NEBRASKA
• After starting the season with 20 consecutive wins, Nebraska is 5-5 over its last 10 games.  The Huskers are 25-5 overall and 14-5 in Big Ten play, sitting in a two-way tie for third place in the standings.  
• The Huskers suffered their largest loss of the season in their last time out, falling 72-52 at UCLA on March 3. Nebraska shot just 38 percent from the field, 20.8 percent from long range and 50 percent from the free throw stripe in the defeat.
• Nebraska is 15-2 at home this season, including 7-2 in Big Ten play.  The two losses came against No. 9 Illinois (78-69) and No. 13 Purdue (80-77).
• Former Hawkeye Pyrce Sandfort leads the team, averaging 18 points on 47.6 percent shooting with a Nebraska record 108 3-point field goals.  He also averages 4.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and one steal per contest.  He is No. 1 in the Big Ten in 3-pointers (108; sixth in NCAA), 3-pointers per game (3.60), 3-point attempts (267) and is third with a 40.4 3-point percentage.
• Rienk Mast averages 13.6 points and a team-high six rebounds, while freshman Braden Frager averages 11.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in a reserve role.
• Guard Sam Hoiberg does a little bit of everything for the Huskers, averages 9.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and two steals.  He is leading the Big Ten in steals (61) and has the top assist-to-turnover ratio (4.75) in the country.
• The Huskers average 77.7 points, shooting 46.6 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent from long range.  Nebraska averages 10.6 3-point field goals and 29.9 3-point attempts per game.
• Defensively, Nebraska allows 65.7 points (15th nationally) and is second in the Big Ten (20th nationally), limiting opponents to 40 percent shooting.  The Huskers’ 3-point defense (.296) is second in the league and 12th in the NCAA.
• The Huskers have the sixth-best defensive efficiency in the nation by KenPom.

SERIES HISTORY
• Sunday’s game is the 44th meeting all-time between Iowa and Nebraska, dating back to 1907.   The Hawkeyes lead the all-time series, 28-15.
• Iowa has won four straight and seven of the last nine in the series, dating back to the 2019-20 season.  The Hawkeyes downed the ninth-ranked Huskers, 57-52, on Feb. 17, giving Iowa its first top 10 home win since 2019.
• The Hawkeyes swept the season series during the 2024-25 campaign, winning 97-87 in overtime in Iowa City and 83-68 in Lincoln in a Big Ten Tournament qualifying elimination game.
• Nebraska is 11-8 against Iowa in Lincoln, but the Hawkeyes have won two of the last three.

FIRST MEETING: IOWA 57, NO. 9 NEBRASKA 52 
The Hawkeyes picked up their first ranked win in two years and their first top 10 home win since 2019, downing No. 9 Nebraska, 57-52, on Feb. 17 in Iowa City. Iowa held the Huskers to a season-low 52 points, just five 3-point field goals and dominated the action on the glass, 37-24. It was the team’s largest rebounding margin in a Big Ten game this season. 
• Senior Bennett Stirtz led the team with 25 points on 8-of-22 shooting, while redshirt freshman Cooper Koch scored 10 points with a pair of 3s. Senior Tavion Banks led all players with 10 rebounds, tying a season high.

LAST GAME: NO. 3 MICHIGAN 71, IOWA 68
Iowa rallied from a 10-point deficit to tie the game twice in the final two minutes before No. 3 Michigan escaped Carver-Hawkeye Arena with a 71-68 victory on Thursday in Iowa City.  It was the closest game the Wolverines have played in Big Ten play since Jan. 27.
• Senior Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 21 points to go along with four assists, three rebounds and three steals. Junior Cam Manyawu tied a season high with 14 points on 7-of-13 shooting and had a team-high eight rebounds.
• Iowa held Michigan 18 points below its season average and turned 18 turnovers into 26 points.  The Wolverines won the rebounding battle, 38-25, and was +6 at the free throw stripe.

IOWA'S BENNETT STIRTZ IS...
• seventh among active players (all levels) with 2,234 career points.  He eclipsed the 2,000-point mark on Feb. 1 at Oregon.
• the only player in the nation with 615+ points, 130+ assists, 70 3-pointers, 70+ rebounds and 40+ steals.
• one of three players in the nation with 615+ points, 130+ assists,  70+ rebounds and 40+ steals.
• the only player in the Big Ten (one of two power conference players) with 615+ points and 130+ 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.
• averaging 22.8 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 Hawkeyes 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).

IOWA IS... 
• 17-3 when scoring 70+ points this season.  The three losses were at No. 5 Purdue, at Maryland and at No. 24 Wisconsin.
• 16-1 when allowing fewer than 69 points this season.
• 15-0 when shooting more free throws than its opponents.
• 16-1 when leading with 10 minutes to play.
• 15-1 when having a higher field goal percentage.
• 15-2 when out-rebounding its opponent.
• 17-4 when leading at halftime.
• 12-1 when junior Alvaro Folgueiras scores in double figures.

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 games in their first season with the program. 

Dr. Tom Davis (1986-87) - 30
Ben McCollum (2025-26) - 20