Despite the Iowa men’s basketball team’s sloppy performance, Bennett Stirtz’ career-high 36 points was just enough to hold off a gritty Northwestern team, 76-70, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday.
Stirtz’ career-high came on 12-of-20 shooting with four threes and eight free throws. No other Iowa player had a good rhythm offensively, with Tavion Banks being the only other Hawkeye in double figures with 13 points along with seven rebounds.
“I didn’t think we had a great deal of hunger to start the game, and we then figured it out, but then we made a lot of losing plays again down the stretch where we just fouled,” Iowa head coach Ben McCollum said. “[We] didn’t get in coverage again, just some things that we need to continue to correct and continue to grow with.”
First half
It wasn’t the best first minute for the Hawkeyes as it gave up two inside shots to the Wildcats. Cam Manyawu took it upon himself with two contested layups inside for the quick tie, followed by a pair of free throws from Cooper Koch, a putback layup by Banks, and a euro-step reverse layup from Stirtz that gave the home crowd some life.
And yet, Iowa lost its footing, allowing Northwestern to take a 15-13 lead halfway through the first half courter of a four-minute Iowa scoring drought. Stirtz finally cut the gap with a spinning fadeaway at the free throw line right under the nine-minute mark.
“They did a great job of mixing up coverages, because they came out and trapped initially went away from the trap, went to a switch, went back to the trap, in and out of that stuff,” McCollum said. “And it was kept us off off balance a little bit.”
Iowa’s play didn’t get any prettier from there. Outside of forced turnovers on defense and drawn fouls on offense, the Hawkeyes couldn’t put the ball in the hoop – several missed free throws and no clean three-point looks. But Stirtz bailed the offense out on several occasions, including consecutive and-one opportunities and a pair of free throws that fueled a 17-8 run to end the first half.
The Hawkeyes’ 39-35 halftime lead was in-large part due to Stirtz’ 14 points. Banks had nine points stemming from five free throws.
Second half
Combs’ pull-up jumper and Stirtz’ three-pointer in the right corner – the team’s first three of the entire game – got the second half started Iowa, though Northwestern quickly cancelled it out with a six-point response on three-straight trips. The Hawkeyes’ stout defense held the Wildcats scoreless for four minutes aiding its first double-digit lead of the game, 51-40, at the 14:18 mark.
But as Iowa struggled to put a string of baskets together, Northwestern did so, and its 13-2 run over a four-minute period got it to within three once again, 56-53. Stirtz cut the stretch once again with his third three and the team’s fourth of the day for a six-point advantage with just over eight minutes left.
Stirtz continued to cook with several threes, shots at the rim, and drawn fouls, single-handedly carrying the Hawkeye offense. His step-back three with 3:30 left not only gave Iowa a 68-59 lead, but tied his career-high with 32 points. He drew a foul on the next possession, where he knocked down the free throws for a new career-high.
“Trust the work they put in, so I know that I don’t have to do it alone,” Stirtz said. “It’s a team game, that’s why I play it. So just being around my teammates, it’s just so fun to be out there playing with them.”
The Wildcats refused to go away easy. It had a response for every Iowa punch thrown bringing its nine-point deficit down to three with just under two left. But as Iowa does best, its defense held the Wildcats to just three points from that point on, securing the Super Bowl Sunday win.
Up next
Iowa will take its talents to the east coast for a Wednesday night matchup with Maryland. The Terrapins lost four-straight games before securing a five-point victory to Minnesota on Sunday, its second win in the 2026 calendar year thus far. It’ll be without its leading scorer in forward Pharrell Payne, though it boasts five others who average at least nine a game.