Iowa City Today

The University of Iowa men’s basketball team began its season with a 101-69 victory over Robert Morris on Tuesday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game marked the debut win for new head coach Ben McCollum.

Iowa started strong, opening with a 17-2 run and forcing four turnovers in Robert Morris’ first eight possessions. Senior Bennett Stirtz contributed significantly early, scoring 10 of Iowa’s first 22 points while making all three of his initial shots from the field.

Redshirt freshman Cooper Koch added a dunk to extend Iowa’s lead to 41-19 late in the first half. Freshman Trevin Jirak scored his first collegiate points shortly before halftime, giving Iowa its largest lead of the period at 49-24. The Hawkeyes led 49-26 at halftime.

Stirtz led all scorers in the opening half with 15 points on five-of-six shooting, along with three assists, two steals, and one block. Defensively, Iowa forced 13 turnovers and held Robert Morris to just under 38 percent shooting from the field and nine percent from three-point range.

Early in the second half, senior Tavion Banks scored back-to-back baskets that helped spark an eight-point run for Iowa, pushing their advantage to 69-40 by the twelve-minute mark. Another eight-point surge later increased their lead to 84-46 as part of a stretch where they outscored Robert Morris by seventeen points over eight minutes.

Stirtz finished as top scorer with 19 points on six-of-ten shooting (including two-of-five from beyond the arc), six assists, and four steals. Banks contributed 17 points on six-of-seven shooting and added four rebounds and two steals.

As a team, Iowa shot nearly sixty-two percent from the field (29-for-47) and about forty-seven percent from three-point range (7-for-15). They converted eighty-two percent of their free throws (36-for-44). Defensively, they forced a total of twenty-three turnovers by Robert Morris.

Head coach Ben McCollum said after the game: “First off, thanks to the fans for coming out, particularly the students. It makes the environment so much more fun. Even if you’re playing well, not playing well, whatever it may be. To have fans that cheer, it kind of just snowballs on itself. Where now people are, oh there are students there, that’s a fun place to go and then more students come then more fans come. That’s what Iowa basketball needs to be.

Obviously, there is still going to be a work in process. We’ve got a long way to go. I was really happy with our energy out of the gate.”

With this win:

- McCollum has now won ten straight season openers across his previous coaching stops.

- This marks fourteen consecutive regular season-opening wins for Iowa.

- McCollum becomes only the third Hawkeye head coach whose debut saw his team score over one hundred points.

- Six Hawkeyes finished in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (19), Tavion Banks (17), Alvaro Folgueiras (11), Isaia Howard (10), Cam Manyawu (10), Brendan Hausen (10).

- All eleven players who appeared for Iowa scored during the game.

Iowa will next play Western Illinois at home on Friday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.