Bennett Stirtz Opens Up About Iowa's Cy-Hawk Loss

At the end of the day, losing by four points to the No. 4 team in the nation isn't the end of the world. Even though Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum would tell you otherwise, this was a key loss for an Iowa team that had no business losing, 66-62, to Iowa State in the first place. The Cyclones are ranked No. 4 for a reason, so the fact that Iowa managed to keep it this close is astonishing.

All eyes were on the Hawkeyes as they had an eight point lead at halftime. In the end, Bennett Stirtz struggled as Iowa failed to get anything going in the second half. Once they did, it was too little too late as the final edition of the 2025 Cy-Hawk rivalry went to Iowa State.

Bennett Stirtz Post-Game Comments

Bennett Stirtz on the 66-62 loss at #4 Iowa State: “It gives us a lot of confidence. I’m still not into moral victories. We lost the game. It sucks still. We need to let it suck. It’ll make us better. But I’m super-proud. We were down 10 in the second half because we didn’t come…
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) December 12, 2025

“It gives us a lot of confidence," Stirtz said. "I’m still not into moral victories. We lost the game. It sucks still. We need to let it suck. It’ll make us better. But I’m super-proud."

Stirtz continued, "We were down 10 in the second half because we didn’t come out ready to go in the second half, and we still fought back and stuck together as a team.”

Hearing the senior say he "isn't into moral victories" is eerily similar to what McCollum said in his post-game press conference. Seeing as Stirtz followed McCollum to Iowa from Drake, those two have a tight relationship and it's clear the players are listening to the message their head coach is trying to get across.

Stirtz' Worst Game Of The Season

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— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) December 12, 2025

While he only scored nine points against Chicago State on November 20, this was statistically his worst game of the year, by far. Stirtz shot just 27.3% from the field which is his lowest percentage since he went 0-3 last season with Drake against Bradley. It's not like the 6'4'' guard has been perfect this season, but he was coming off a 10-17 performance against Maryland.

Good teams are always going to find a way to stop their opponents top player, and that's exactly what the Cyclones did. Stirtz finished just 3-11 from the field, though he grabbed five rebounds which was his highest total since that Chicago State game.

Of Stirtz 10 points, nine of which came from three point range. He didn't make a single field goal other than a trio of three pointers he knocked down. Keep in mind, he was just 3-8 from three point range. It was that kind of night from Stirtz. Had he been his usual self, it's very likely Iowa could've left Ames with a shocking upset.

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