HOUSTON — A special bond connects Iowa coach Ben McCollum and his point guard Bennett Stirtz.
They’ve spent four seasons together at three schools. At every stop, they’ve done two things: win a lot of games and go to the NCAA Tournament.
After two seasons at Division II Northwest Missouri State and a season at Drake, they’ve continued their winning ways this season for Iowa.
Thursday, Stirtz delivered in crunch time to help the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes rally past fourth-seeded Nebraska for a 77-71 win in a South Regional semifinal at the Toyota Center. Iowa trailed by as many as 10 points before taking its first lead on Stirtz’s three-pointer with 2:10 left to cap his 20-point performance.
“In 20 years, it will be an insane story,” McCollum said when asked by Hoops HQ about Stirtz. “A guy that goes from D-II with his coach and then goes to Drake and then goes to the University of Iowa and actually makes it further in the tournament in Division I than he did in Division II. Obviously, there’s a close relationship there.
“I think once we get done with it all, it will probably grow even more.”
For now, Iowa (24-12) is far from done and advances to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987. The Hawkeyes, who stunned defending national champion Florida in the Round of 32, shot 51.9 percent from the floor, with a 13-of-30 effort beyond the arc, against Nebraska, which reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.
Stirtz, who was 0-of-9 from deep against Florida, hit three threes and had four assists with zero turnovers as Iowa turned it over only five times. The Hawkeyes also finished with a 20-7 advantage in points off turnovers as Nebraska (28-7) coughed it up 10 times in only the second all-Big Ten matchup in Sweet Sixteen history and the first since 1980 (Purdue beat Indiana on its way to the Final Four).
Nebraska coach Fred Hoiberg credited Stirtz as being the catalyst for Iowa. The teams split their regular-season meetings, with each winning at home.
“He plays with so much poise and confidence, and he never gets sped up on the offensive end,” Hoiberg said of Stirtz. “The thing I look at and the difference of this thing is – I think it was the 20-7 in points off turnovers. They just took care of the ball way better than we did tonight, and they made the shots.”
Stirtz began his college career with McCollum at Northwest Missouri State after having zero D-I offers coming out of Liberty (Mo.) High, in the Kansas City suburbs. He earned second-team all-conference honors for a D-II Tournament team in each of his two seasons with the Bearcats, who made the Sweet Sixteen in 2023-24.
When McCollum took the Drake job the following season after winning 395 games and four D-II national titles in 15 years at Northwest Missouri State, Stirtz followed him to Des Moines. The winning continued as the Bulldogs swept the Missouri Valley Conference’s regular-season and tourney titles, then beat sixth-seeded Missouri in the NCAA Tournament for the program’s first non-First Four win since 1971. Stirtz was named the Missouri Valley’s Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and league tournament Most Outstanding Player.
The firing of Fran McCaffrey last spring led to McCollum making the move to his hometown of Iowa City and once again bringing Stirtz with him. Iowa stumbled down the stretch, with six losses in its final eight regular-season games, but did enough earlier in the season to go dancing for the first time in three years.
After beating Clemson, Florida and Nebraska in March Madness, the Hawkeyes now play No. 3 seed Illinois (27-8) on Saturday in the regional final; the Illini won their only regular-season meeting in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes are eyeing the program’s first Final Four since 1980 and their first national championship.
Stirtz, a first-team All-Big Ten selection after leading the Hawkeyes in scoring and assists, still has unfinished business, so he wants to wait before truly reflecting on his time with McCollum.
“He’s turned me into a great person off the court and a great player on the court, too,” Stirtz said. “Honestly, I don’t want to talk about it that much. I get emotional. That’s just another topic for after the season that we can look at. Right now, just focus on the next game.”
McCollum certainly has enjoyed his time with Stirtz, who recently became only the 11th player in college basketball history with at least 2,000 points, 550 assists, 450 rebounds and 225 steals.
“I think when you’re a player-coach sometimes, you obviously care for each other and love each other and all that, but you don’t get to connect on that kind of level,” McCollum said. “It’s been a hell of a ride, but it’s far from over.”
Meet your guide
