Northwestern Wildcats at Iowa Hawkeyes
· NCAA Men's Basketball
Bennett Stirtz scores career-high 36 to help Iowa hold off Northwestern 76-70
Stirtz made made 12 of 20 shots and all eight of his free throws for the Hawkeyes (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten Conference). The senior guard hit 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Tavion Banks added 13 points and seven rebounds.
Nick Martinelli scored 21 on 6-for-19 shooting for the Wildcats (10-14, 2-11). Jake West sank four 3-pointers and scored 18. Tre Singleton had 10 points before fouling out.
West buried a 3-pointer to give Northwestern an 18-13 lead with 8:31 remaining in the first half. The Wildcats played with the lead until a three-point play by Stirtz tied it 30-all with 2:13 left. Stirtz added two free throw, Kael Combs hit a jumper and Banks scored the final five points in a 12-5 run to give Iowa a 39-35 advantage at halftime.
Combs had the first basket of the second half and Stirtz followed with a 3-pointer to push the lead to nine. Stirtz added another 3-pointer and the Hawkeyes took their first double-digit lead at 54-40 with 13 minutes left.
West answered with a 3-pointer to spark a 13-2 run and Northwestern pulled within 56-53 four minutes later. Stirtz hit a 3-pointer to keep Iowa in front and the Hawkeyes maintained a two-possession lead until West hit another 3 to cut it to 70-67 with two minutes left. Stirtz drove for a layup and Banks added two free throws to wrap it up.
Northwestern: Hosts No. 2 Michigan on Wednesday.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 70 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:00 | End of 2nd half | 70 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:14 | Iowa Defensive Rebound. | 70 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:15 | Jayden Reid misses 25-foot three point jumper | 70 - 76 |
| 2nd 0:24 | Cooper Koch makes 4-foot dunk | 70 - 76 |
Statistics
 NU |
 IOWA |
|
|---|---|---|
| 21-45 | FG | 24-53 |
| 47 | Field Goal % | 45 |
| 8-14 | 3PT | 5-16 |
| 57 | Three Point % | 31 |
| 20-22 | FT | 23-29 |
| 91 | Free Throw % | 79 |
| 22 | Rebounds | 34 |
| 3 | Offensive Rebounds | 13 |
| 19 | Defensive Rebounds | 21 |
| 10 | Assists | 12 |
| 2 | Steals | 6 |
| 2 | Blocks | 0 |
| 10 | Turnovers | 8 |
| 1 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 10 | Total Turnovers | 8 |
| 1 | Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 1 | Total Technical Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 5 | Points Off Turnovers | 14 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 5 |
| 20 | Points in Paint | 36 |
| 25 | Fouls | 16 |
| 6 | Largest Lead | 14 |
| 3 | Lead Changes | 3 |
| 26 | Percent Led | 61 |
Game Information
Location: Iowa City, IA
Attendance: 11,474 | Capacity:
2025-26 Big Ten Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 19-1 | - | 31-3 |
| Nebraska | 15-5 | 4 | 26-6 |
| Michigan State | 15-5 | 4 | 25-7 |
| Illinois | 15-5 | 4 | 24-8 |
| Wisconsin | 14-6 | 5 | 24-10 |
| Purdue | 13-7 | 6 | 27-8 |
| UCLA | 13-7 | 6 | 23-11 |
| Ohio State | 12-8 | 7 | 21-12 |
| Iowa | 10-10 | 9 | 21-12 |
| Indiana | 9-11 | 10 | 18-14 |
| Minnesota | 8-12 | 11 | 15-17 |
| USC | 7-13 | 12 | 18-14 |
| Washington | 7-13 | 12 | 16-17 |
| Rutgers | 6-14 | 13 | 14-19 |
| Northwestern | 5-15 | 14 | 15-19 |
| Oregon | 5-15 | 14 | 12-20 |
| Maryland | 4-16 | 15 | 12-21 |
| Penn State | 3-17 | 16 | 12-20 |