{"id":16486,"date":"2025-11-18T21:07:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T01:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/iowa-mens-basketball-off-to-3-0-start-under-ben-mccollum-edges-xavier-81-62\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T21:08:21","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T01:08:21","slug":"30614-iowa-men-s-basketball-off-to-3-0-start-under-ben-mccollum-edges-xavier-81-62","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.red94.net\/news\/30614-iowa-men-s-basketball-off-to-3-0-start-under-ben-mccollum-edges-xavier-81-62\/","title":{"rendered":"Iowa men&#8217;s basketball off to 3-0 start under Ben McCollum, edges Xavier 81-62"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style='font-size: 1.1em;font-weight: 500;line-height: 1.6'><b>Iowa men&#8217;s basketball<\/b> is off to a perfect <b>3-0<\/b> start under brand-new head coach <b>Ben McCollum<\/b>. The <b>Hawkeyes<\/b> dominated <b>Xavier<\/b> on <b>Nov. 14<\/b> at <b>Carver-Hawkeye Arena<\/b>. Iowa cruised to an <b>81-62<\/b> victory in its first power-conference test. It&#8217;s the kind of statement win that signals McCollum&#8217;s vision for this program.<\/p>\n<div style='background-color: #f8f9fa;border-left: 4px solid #e74c3c;padding: 15px;margin: 20px 0'>\n<p style='margin: 0;font-weight: 600'>\ud83d\udd25 Quick Facts:<\/p>\n<ul style='margin: 10px 0 0 0;padding-left: 20px'>\n<li><b>Bennett Stirtz<\/b> led all scorers with <b>21 points<\/b> and <b>8 rebounds<\/b>.<\/li>\n<li>Iowa outrebounded Xavier <b>41-24<\/b> and dominated the paint <b>50-26<\/b>.<\/li>\n<li>The bench unit proved crucial, outscoring Xavier&#8217;s bench <b>34-11<\/b>.<\/li>\n<li>Iowa shot just <b>27%<\/b> from three but won by <b>19 points<\/b> anyway.<\/li>\n<li>Nearly <b>11,678<\/b> fans attended the home game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Hawkeyes Dominate First Power-Conference Test<\/h2>\n<p><b>Bennett Stirtz<\/b> broke a <b>22-22<\/b> tie with a powerful dunk. That basket sparked a decisive run midway through the first half. Iowa&#8217;s defense locked in immediately after. The Hawkeyes outscored Xavier <b>23-6<\/b> over the next stretch. By halftime, Iowa had built a commanding <b>45-29<\/b> lead.<\/p>\n<p>The second half never got interesting. Xavier clawed back briefly in the opening minutes. <b>Jovan Milicevic<\/b> made two foul shots to get the <b>Musketeers<\/b> within <b>9<\/b> points. But <b>Cam Manyawu<\/b> answered with a layup. Iowa led by double digits for the rest of the night.<\/p>\n<blockquote style='border-left: 4px solid #3498db;padding-left: 20px;margin: 20px 0;font-style: italic;color: #555'>\n<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of things that go into being a first-place program, and part of it is the crowd, part of it is the enthusiasm there. And then part of it is the way you play and being able to win games like this.&#8221;<\/p>\n<footer style='margin-top: 10px;font-style: normal;font-size: 0.9em'>\u2014 <b>Ben McCollum<\/b>, Iowa Head Coach<\/footer>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>McCollum&#8217;s squad showed the physical toughness he&#8217;s demanding from day one. The <b>Hawkeyes<\/b> crashed the boards with purpose. They held a <b>41-24<\/b> rebound advantage. Iowa also dominated inside, winning the paint battle by an impressive <b>50-26<\/b> margin. That&#8217;s not an accident\u2014that&#8217;s coaching.<\/p>\n<h2>Bench Depth Emerges as Key Strength<\/h2>\n<p>All <b>10<\/b> Hawkeyes who entered the game scored. That kind of balanced attack is dangerous in power-conference play. <b>Kael Combs<\/b> came off the bench and provided immediate impact. He finished with <b>11 points<\/b>, <b>4 rebounds<\/b>, and <b>4 assists<\/b>. <b>Alvaro Folgueiras<\/b>, the <b>reigning Horizon League Player of the Year<\/b>, added <b>8 points<\/b> and <b>8 rebounds<\/b>.<\/p>\n<p>Freshman contributors <b>Tate Sage<\/b> and <b>Trevin Jirak<\/b> combined for <b>12<\/b> meaningful points. Through three games, Iowa&#8217;s bench now outscores opponents by roughly <b>19 points<\/b> per contest. That&#8217;s a massive advantage heading into <b>Big Ten<\/b> conference play.<\/p>\n<table style='width: 100%;border-collapse: collapse;margin: 20px 0;border: 1px solid #ddd'>\n<tr style='background-color: #f5f5f5'>\n<th style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px;text-align: left'>Player<\/th>\n<th style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px;text-align: left'>Points<\/th>\n<th style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px;text-align: left'>Rebounds<\/th>\n<th style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px;text-align: left'>Assists<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'><b>Bennett Stirtz<\/b><\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>21<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>8<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'><b>Tavion Banks<\/b><\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>13<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>\u2014<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'><b>Kael Combs<\/b><\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>11<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>4<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'><b>Cam Manyawu<\/b><\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>9<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>9<\/td>\n<td style='border: 1px solid #ddd;padding: 10px'>\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Interior Dominance, Not Three-Point Volume<\/h2>\n<p>Iowa attempted just <b>11<\/b> three-pointers and made <b>3<\/b> of them for a <b>27%<\/b> clip. That&#8217;s a stark shift from the <b>Fran McCaffery<\/b> era. Last season, the <b>Hawkeyes<\/b> rarely dipped below <b>18<\/b> attempts per game from deep. McCollum&#8217;s system prioritizes rim attacks and physicality instead.<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s the thing\u2014it worked perfectly against <b>Xavier<\/b>. Iowa shot <b>57%<\/b> overall on <b>29-of-51<\/b> attempts. The <b>Hawkeyes<\/b> made <b>20<\/b> free throws and showed no fear taking the ball inside. <b>Stirtz<\/b> drove constantly. <b>Bennett Stirtz<\/b> said afterward: &#8220;They were forcing me to drive. They weren&#8217;t giving me the 3-point shot, so I took what they gave me.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This approach reduces boom-or-bust performances. If Iowa struggles from deep in future games, it won&#8217;t derail the entire game plan. The team can still win by dominating inside consistently.<\/p>\n<h2>What&#8217;s Next for the Hawkeyes<\/h2>\n<ul style='margin: 20px 0;padding-left: 20px'>\n<li>Iowa faces <b>Southeast Missouri<\/b> on <b>Tuesday, Nov. 18<\/b> at <b>7:30 PM<\/b>.<\/li>\n<li><b>Chicago State<\/b> visits on <b>Thursday, Nov. 20<\/b> at <b>6:00 PM CT<\/b>.<\/li>\n<li>Both games are home contests at <b>Carver-Hawkeye Arena<\/b>.<\/li>\n<li>Iowa needs to maintain intensity against weaker nonconference opponents.<\/li>\n<li><b>Big Ten<\/b> play begins in December with high-profile matchups.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Is This the Start of Something Special Under McCollum?<\/h2>\n<p>A perfect <b>3-0<\/b> start gets everyone excited about possibilities. But McCollum preaches patience. The team still has <b>14 turnovers<\/b> that took away from an otherwise stellar defensive showing. Xavier&#8217;s early-season struggles (the <b>Musketeers<\/b> lost badly to <b>Santa Clara<\/b>) mean this win shouldn&#8217;t receive overexaggerated credit.<\/p>\n<p>Yet there&#8217;s something undeniably different about this squad&#8217;s mentality. The physicality is real. The depth is legitimate. The coach believes in building something sustainable, not just winning now. &#8220;They&#8217;re a major work in progress,&#8221; <b>McCollum<\/b> said. &#8220;They&#8217;re a work in progress until the end of the season. But whenever you take over something and you build it from kind of scratch essentially, a lot of people are excited.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Watch how Iowa responds to the next two nonconference opponents. If the <b>Hawkeyes<\/b> maintain this intensity and physicality, the foundation McCollum&#8217;s building might actually hold up once conference play arrives.<\/p>\n<p>Check out the official reaction:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ben McCollum reacts to Iowa basketball\u2019s 81-62 win over Xavier\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/hiswfxyGzwQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h3>Sources<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Hawk Central<\/b> &#8211; Iowa basketball&#8217;s win over Xavier analysis and game coverage<\/li>\n<li><b>Des Moines Register<\/b> &#8211; Ben McCollum coaching style and bench depth breakdown<\/li>\n<li><b>CBS Sports\/AP<\/b> &#8211; Official game box score and final statistics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":16485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"schema_org_data":"{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Ben McCollum\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Bennett Stirtz\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Jovan Mili\u0107evi\u0107\",\"image\":\"https:\/\/image.tmdb.org\/t\/p\/w500\/cEkiXsx3Um3OzqCQqmEUBUf4P2C.jpg\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.themoviedb.org\/person\/1308621\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Cam Manyawu\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Kael Combs\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Alvaro Folgueiras\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Tate Sage\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Trevin Jirak\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Tavion Banks\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Fran McCaffery\"},{\"@type\":\"VideoObject\",\"name\":\"Ben 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