UI Athletics news release
HOUSTON, Texas – The ninth-seeded University of Iowa men’s basketball team defeated fourth-seeded Nebraska, 77-71, on Thursday night at the Toyota Center to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
Nebraska opened the game on a 12-2 run, forcing an early Iowa timeout. The Hawkeyes responded with four straight field goals to cut the deficit to two before the Huskers pushed the lead back to nine behind a pair of 3-pointers. Trailing by 10 with five minutes remaining in the first half, Iowa used back-to-back 3-pointers to trim the margin to two. Nebraska answered with a 6-0 run, but freshman Tate Sage knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send the Hawkeyes into halftime trailing, 46-43.
Sage led Iowa with 11 first-half points, shooting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while senior Bennett Stirtz added 10 points and three assists. The Hawkeyes shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes.
Iowa tied the game at 50-50 five minutes into the second half and again at 53-53. Nebraska maintained the lead until the five-minute mark, when junior Alvaro Folgueiras connected on a 3-pointer to even the score at 65-65. After both teams went cold from the field, Stirtz gave Iowa its first lead of the game, 68-65, with a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired with under two minutes remaining.
Sage followed with another 3-pointer on the next possession to extend the lead to six with just under 80 seconds left. Nebraska answered from deep, but Folgueiras scored the next five points to seal the victory in the final seconds.
Stirtz led Iowa with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting while adding four assists in 40 minutes of action. Sage posted a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Folgueiras added 16 points on 6-of-7 shooting, while redshirt freshman Cooper Koch added 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
As a team, Iowa shot 27-of-52 (51.9 percent) from the field and 13-of-30 (43.3 percent) from 3-point range, while converting 10-of-12 (83.3 percent) from the free throw line. The Hawkeyes’ bench outscored Nebraska’s, 38-20, and Iowa turned 10 Husker turnovers into 20 points.
HEAR FROM HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“Yeah, I think to start we weren’t fantastic to start. They had an elite game plan to start. They played with elite pace. They adjusted their defense quite a bit. I think a lot of people will talk about the rivalry. I was around it when I was in Iowa, you know, and grew up in Iowa and understand the rivalry and whatnot. It’s nice to have — I guess if you would a call it rival that runs such a class program.
I think Coach Hoiberg, they have got great kids. They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything. I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially Coach Hoiberg. Heck of a season. I know it’s no consolation, but we still want to beat ’em every time and they want to beat us every time.
But from and internal perspective, there’s not a lot of bad blood there. It’s actually a lot of respect. I was really pleased with our second-half performance. I thought we actually decided we were going to try — not try. They had a lot to do with it, but kind of. Yeah, they’re smiling over there because they saw me break my marker.
And I thought our kids did a good job of executing offensively in both halves. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that we could score, and you saw the result of that. We didn’t defend. But we were able to score, so we were able to stay in the game long enough and then get enough stops and had some big possessions down the stretch. Really good program win for everybody, coaches, managers, everybody included.”
GAME NOTES
- The ninth-seeded Hawkeyes advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987 with a 77-71 victory over fourth-seeded Nebraska in the South Regional Semifinal at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.
- The Hawkeyes have defeated three straight higher seeded teams – No. 8 Clemson, No. 1 Florida, No. 4 Nebraska en route to the South Region Final.
- As a No. 9 seed, Iowa is the lowest seed in the Big Ten to reach the Elite Eight.
- The last No. 9 seed to advance to the Elite Eight was Florida Atlantic in 2023.
- Iowa is the sixth nine seed to advance to the Elite Eight.
- Two times in NCAA Tournament history has a No. 9 seed made the Final Four.
- The Hawkeyes have won three NCAA Tournament games in the last seven days; Iowa had won three in the previous 20 years.
- Iowa moves to 7-1 on neutral courts this season.
- The victory is the Hawkeyes’ 24th of the season — tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history.
- After trailing 46-43 at the half, the Hawkeyes fought back to tie the game at 50, the first time the game was tied since it was scoreless. The game was tied three times (53, 62, 65).
- Iowa took its first lead at the 2:10 mark when Bennett Stirtz connected on a late shot clock 3-pointer, giving the Hawkeyes a 68-65 lead.
- The Hawkeyes led by as many as nine in the final minute.
- Iowa had four players finish in double figures: Bennett Stirtz (20), Tate Sage (19), Alvaro Folgueiras (16), Cooper Koch (11)
- Stirtz finished with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting (3-of-9 3PT) to go along with four assists and two rebounds.
- It was his 19th 20-point game this season and 53rd of his career.
- It was his 17th game this season playing 40 or more minutes (57 times in his career).
- He is the first Hawkeye with 20 points/4 assists in an NCAA Tournament since Dean Oliver in the Round of 32 vs. Kentucky in 2001.
- Stirtz didn’t commit a turnover for the 12th time this season.
- Sage posted career-highs in points (19), rebounds (8) and assists (3), making 6-of-10 field goals, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. His six field goals are a career-high, while his four 3s tie a career-best.
- Sage’s 19 points are tied for the most in an NCAA Tournament game by a Hawkeye freshman all-time, tying Joe Wieskamp (2019) and Guy Rucker (1997).
- Folgueiras made 6-of-7 field goals, including two 3s and had three steals. He has scored 14+ points in all three NCAA Tournament games.
- Koch made three triples en route to his 11-point outing and had five rebounds.
- Iowa made 13 3-pointers, the most in an NCAA Tournament game in program history. The previous record was 12 against UAB in 1999. The team’s 30 attempts were also a team NCAA Tournament record.
- After giving up 46 points in the first half, Iowa’s defense limited the Huskers to 25 second-half points on 28.1 percent shooting (25 percent from 3-point range).
- Iowa committed just five turnovers in the game against a Husker defense that forced 13 a game.
- The Hawkeyes won despite being out-rebounded, 35-26.
- Nebraska jumped out to a double-digit lead over the first five minutes, making six of its first 10 field goals. The Hawkeyes responded with an 8-0 spurt to climb to within two at 19-17 before Braden Frager drilled three consecutive 3-pointers to push the Huskers’ lead to 25-17 at the 11:57 mark.
- Iowa fell behind by 10 three more times in the first half before closing with a 13-4 run, including a Sage 3-pointer at the buzzer to make the score 46-43.
- Offense was the name of the game in the first half with Iowa shooting 60 percent (15-of-25) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from 3-point range. Nebraska shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) and 50 percent from long range (7-of-14).
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes will play 3-seed Illinois on Saturday at 5:09 p.m. (CT).