A 17-point comeback to take the one-point lead with eight seconds remaining with the opposing team in the bonus, and then intentionally foul to send the opposition’s best shooter to the free throw line?
It’s not supposed to make sense.
Whether the foul was intentional or not was a question brought up in the postgame presser. Iowa head men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum was understandably baffled by the event, in large part because he knows that no coach in their right mind would call for their team to foul in that situation.
“Did they think that they were down? Because it was pretty intentional it seemed like,” he said. “I have no idea what happened, probably a mistake, because… he just grabbed him, and it was like, ‘Whoa.'”
The Hawkeyes flat-out won this game on free throws, and that goes beyond Bennett Stirtz’s late-game pair. There have been many cases where teams lose due to missed opportunities at the charity stripe, and that includes Iowa. But this was not one of those cases – 19-of-22 from the line in a one-point victory.
Basketball’s most fundamental feature
Free throws are called free throws for a reason. Coaches stress the importance of knocking those down because it’s free, uncontested points. And in the beginning of the game, when the Hawkeye couldn’t score a field goal for the lives, free throws are what got their game going.
After six scoreless minutes to start the game, Iowa scored eight points over the following three minutes, five of which were free throws from Stirtz, Tate Sage, and Tavion Banks. It went on to score 27 first half points on 8-of-28 shooting (28.6 percent), which was offset by its 10-of-11 foul shooting to cut what was an 11-point USC lead down to one by halftime.
It was a good thing that the Hawkeyes were far less reliant on free throws in the second half. It’s 15-of-27 field goal shooting (55.6) was heavily aided by an offensive onslaught through the opening minutes that led to a 17-point lead by the 9:30 mark. But the Trojans, led by Kam Woods and his 33 points for the night , didn’t quit, going on a run to take its first lead since halftime with eight seconds remaining.
Then, the foul on Stirtz. Why foul there if you’re USC? That answer will be for a future time, if ever.
“[I was] pretty surprised,” Stirtz said. “I thought they were just coming to double team and got the foul call. Wasn’t trying to do that at all.”
If by accident, it’s not much of a surprise given the Trojans’ physically aggressive play style. It’s rare to see a team lead a conference in free throws made and attempted while also giving up the most three throws made and attempted to opponents on average, especially in the Big Ten. Iowa took advantage of that, shooting well above its 76.9 percent range and making free throws when it mattered most.
“You attack the basket and you use a shot fake,” McCollum said of his team drawing fouls. “I think the first half, we attacked the basket and it was like volleyball. They just spiked it into the ground. It’s like, man, that’s six layups, boss. Use a shot fake. And I said it in my D-II way.”