In what took a relentless comeback to give itself a chance to steal a victory, the Iowa men’s basketball team came up short with a 70-67 falling to Minnesota in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
Bennett Stirtz turned a scoreless first half into a 21-point finish to lead the Hawkeyes. Kael Combs followed with a season-high 14 points, and Isaia Howard chipped in with 10 points. Minnesota’s Langston Reynolds led all scorers with a season-high 22 points.
First half
The Hawkeyes struggled mightily to start the game with just one basket in the first seven minutes – Combs knocking down a triple on the second Iowa possession – en route to a 12-3 deficit early on. Howard’s contested finish at the rim broke the six-minute scoring drought at the and cut Minnesota’s 10-0 run simultaneously 13-minute mark, and Combs’ short corner floater on the next possession brought the Hawkeyes to within five.
Those two buckets were the start of a 14-4 run that saw Iowa take the 17-16 lead at the 7:12 mark in the first half, and it’s a credit to the Hawkeyes playing to its strengths – defensive intensity and offensive aggressiveness, getting downhill and refusing to settle for shots on the perimeter.
Then, just when momentum was back in Iowa’s favor, it collapsed. The two teams traded a few buckets before the Gophers compiled a 15-4 run to close out the first half. And with Stirtz fighting foul trouble, Combs, Howard, and Cooper Koch filled the void by scoring 22 of the team’s 24 first half points.
FROM DEEP! 🎯@CooperKoch_8 x #Hawkeyes
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/adSSIkTGV3
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) January 7, 2026
Minnesota’s 31 points came on 13-of-24 shooting from the field, while the Hawkeyes had two less made shots and five more attempts. Stirtz, Alvaro Folguieras, Tavion Banks, and Cam Manyawu, Iowa’s top four scorers for the season, combined for zero first half points.
Second half
Stirtz’ first bucket came at the 18:30 mark in the second half with a driving layup following Howard’s chase down block on the other end. A minute later after a pair of Minnesota buckets, Stirtz was fouled on the dunk attempt, prompting Iowa’s first two free throw attempts of the game, though he only made one of two.
Tavion Banks’ made three in the corner brought the deficit to 44-39 with 11 minutes to go, but a swift 7-0 Gopher run pushed the lead back up to 12. Down as much as 16 at one point, Stirtz kept his aggressiveness, seemingly getting to the free throw line every other possession. As he did so, the defense held up, and the Hawkeyes found itself down nine, 58-49, with under six minutes to go.
Combs converted the and-one shot in the paint and Howard finished the uncontested putback layup to bring Iowa within six. Another Combs layup and a pair of triples from Stirtz and Brendan Hausen put Iowa down one. And finally, a Cooper Koch tough finish gave the Hawkeyes its first lead since it led, 20-18, in the first half.
Pure. 💸@HausenBrendan x #Hawkeyes
📺: @BigTenNetwork pic.twitter.com/Eng6mc7Kp0
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) January 7, 2026
The Gophers regained the lead through free throws. Then, with a 70-67 Minnesota lead, Iowa came down the court with 16 seconds left choked up three three-pointers, courtesy of two offensive rebounds, and failed to convert any one of them. The Hawkeyes walk away with its third loss of the season.
Up next
Iowa will look to avoid losing consecutive games for the first time this season against a surging No. 16 Illinois squad in Iowa City on Sunday. A three-loss team as of Tuesday, the Fighting Illini have yet to lose on the road and have a well-balanced scoring prowess – four players averaging over 13 points a game.