Iowa men’s basketball earns first ranked win of season with 57-52, win over No. 9 Nebraska

IOWA CITY — Execution, concentration and confidence. Those were Iowa men’s basketball head coach Ben McCollum keys to the Hawkeyes’ 57-52 win over No. 9 Nebraska.

It wasn’t the prettiest game Iowa’s played all season. In fact, Iowa shot 33-percent from the field — a stat that rarely low enough to rarely win a basketball game. Instead, it was the Hawkeyes’ defense that prevailed Tuesday night.

“They roast the occasion and they fought,” McCollum said. “And it didn't go our way a lot. Our offense was completely inept, but we just battled and hung on and got enough stops to be able to get the win.”

After out-rebounding Nebraska by 37-24 — including a plus-13 margin in the first half — Iowa’s defense collected 12 offensive boards. The Hawkeyes also held the Cornhuskers 21 points under their season average points per game (78.3 points per game).

“We had a good glass game,” Guard Bennett Stirtz said. “We just gave energy and and we cared about making it happen.”

The five-point victory is the first ranked win of the season for the Hawkeyes, and the first win over a top 10 opponent since beating then-No. 9 Purdue in March 2022. That kind of win called for a court storm.

And a reminder to guard Cooper Koch why he stayed loyal to the black and gold.

“This is why I came back,” Koch said. “To get wins like this for the fan base.”

Koch finished the game with 10 points, reaching double digits with free throws in the second half. Stirtz led the way for Iowa with 25 points, scoring 12 points in the second half.

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Stirtz was tasked with guarding former Hawkeye Pryce Sandfort all game, a choice the senior point guard made himself according to McCollum. Sandfort led Nebraska with 13 points in his first game back in Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

Sandfort also broke Nebraska’s single-season record for made triples against the Hawkeyes, though his return wasn’t the kindest welcome from the Hawkeye faithful.

“It was just chatter to me,” Sandfort said. “It’s just another game, that was my mindset the whole time.”

Anytime Sandfort touched the ball, boos were echoing across Carver-Hawkeye Arena. If he held the ball even for a second, cue the displeasure from Iowa men’s basketball fans.

The back-and-forth affair eventually led to Iowa’s 11-0 run late in the first half — which Nebraska swiftly cut down to five points few a couple extra buckets and a buzzer-beating triple. There were 10 ties and seven lead changes throughout the game, but Iowa held onto a five-point lead late.

Iowa forced Nebraska to foul after the Hawkeyes collected a rebound. The Cornhuskers held the Hawkeyes without a field goal for the final five minutes of the game.

It was free throws that kept just enough space between the two rivals. Iowa’s last bucket was a step-back triple from Stirtz, just his second made three of the game.

Tuesday night’s win over No. 9 Nebraska gives Iowa its signature win it’s been searching for throughout this season. Iowa’s come close multiple times, but fell short. This time, that wasn’t the case.

“It was an imperfect game, but a perfect ending,” McCollum said.

Iowa men’s basketball plays its third consecutive Quad 1 opponent Sunday afternoon, traveling to Madison, Wisconsin for a 3 p.m. matchup against the Badgers.

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