Iowa’s been powered to a six-game winning streak by star guard Bennett Stirtz
The Iowa Hawkeyes (18-5, 8-4) are riding a six-game Big Ten winning streak. It last happened in 2016 when Iowa raced to a 7-0 conference record to start the season. Fran McCaffery guided Iowa to another six-game conference winning streak the prior year to close the Big Ten season at 12-6. Prior to that? The 1986-87 season where they lived in the top 10 wire-to-wire.
The rarity of this streak underscores just how much Iowa is fighting against in the modern landscape of college basketball. It does not happen here unless everything breaks right.
The biggest break that has happened for the Hawkeyes this season is that Bennett Stirtz came to Iowa City alongside Ben McCollum, saying “no thank you” to potential offers from schools above Iowa’s station or a chance in the NBA Draft. He, like many other Hawks, just look healthier after the three-game losing streak where games were played in molasses. The results are stunning:
Every game over 20 points: He’s averaging 26.2 points/game during Iowa’s 6-game winning streak. This brings his conference scoring average to 22.9, trailing only Lamar Wilkerson’s 23.2 PPG.
Three straight games with 4+ made threes: He’s exceeded 4 threes just once in a game this season: the neutral site game against Ole Miss. During this stretch he is 17/35 (48.6%) despite an 0/6 outing against Rutgers. His 3-point average is up to 40.6% on 6 attempts/game.
Hyper efficiency: As if the two stats above were not indicators enough of his efficient shooting, he’s shooting 32/59 from 2, including the Oregon game where he went 8/9 from inside the arc. Add to it: 34/38 from the free throw line and he is turning into someone where opponents have to pick their poison.
Perhaps the biggest indicator is his adjustment to Big Ten Play. Some of this is, of course, opponent-related as none of Iowa’s six wins have come against anybody above them in the conference standings. But what ailed him early in the conference season is no longer an issue.
He’s accumulated just 8 fouls during the last six games, including donuts the past two games. This has allowed him to regain Iron Man status with 236 of 240 minutes played during the winning streak. After going four straight games without a steal, he’s averaged 2 over the last 5 games.
After yielding 9 turnovers against Indiana and Rutgers, he’s had just 4 in the three games since. With Iowa’s pace of play being so low, limiting turnovers is key.
As Hawkeye fans, we know just how fickle these stretches of games can be in college basketball. Jarrod Uthoff’s 2015-16 season was excellent though it peaked too early while Aaron White’s last effort was too late. Keegan Murray’s sensational sophomore season was dashed by getting dinged up in a first round game and Luka Garza’s player of the year campaign petered out on 36 hours of rest against the only fresh team in 2021’s NCAA second round.
What does Stirtz and company have in store?
We’re about to find out. Tomorrow’s game at Maryland puts a bow on 3 games, coast-to-coast, in 8 days. With it, the “potential trap game” portion of Iowa’s season wraps up. So winning that one is, of course, imperative to continuing the momentum the Hawks have built.
Iowa’s next three opponents – Purdue, Nebraska, & Wisconsin – are all at or above Iowa’s place in the Big Ten standings. They’ll will provide better measuring sticks as to what Iowa may face in the postseason. With that coming up, I’m taken back to Stirtz’s quote post-USC about the remainder of Iowa’s regular season.
“[Coach McCollum] told us it’s an 11-game conference tournament. It’s win or go home the rest of the season.”
That is the mindset of a leader, and team, who is ready for it.
Category: General Sports
