Controversy Arises As Senior Iowa Guard Approaches History

While there are plenty of things the Iowa Hawkeyes men’s basketball team needs to worry about, there’s now another thing to add to that list.

Senior guard Tavion Banks has made 30 straight free throws and he’s on the brink of history.

Hawkeyes fans still haven’t forgotten about Jordan Bohannon purposely missing a shot in 2018 to keep himself tied with Chris Street.

Now, all eyes are on Banks to see what the 6’7’’ 215-pound guard does in his upcoming games.

Tavion Banks Eyes The Record

Tavion Banks is approaching a sacred @IowaHoops stat 💛

With 30 straight made FTs, he's five away from breaking late legend Chris Street and Jordan Bohannon's record.

The Journey profiled Bohannon purposely missing a 2018 FT to keep Street in the record book 👇 pic.twitter.com/wgaTGcwCB2
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) January 30, 2026

It seems silly to purposely miss a free throw, but that’s exactly what Bohannon did in 2018. There’s no telling as to what Banks will do or what first year head coach Ben McCollum’s mindset will be, but this is an “issue” that has picked up steam these last few days.

Iowa’s next game is on February 1 as they take on Oregon. The Ducks are far from a great team, but it’s not like Banks is guaranteed to shoot five free throws in Oregon. Iowa’s west-coast trip is here, and it’s not crazy to think he’ll have a chance to set the record away from home.

Knowing Iowa plays at Washington on February 4, Banks has a decision to make. There’s also a chance he misses a free throw before ever getting to that point, but purposely costing your team a point just for a late record to stay in-tact doesn’t exactly seem like something McCollum is all about. Ultimately, only time will tell.

Banks Has Been Stellar From The Charity Stripe

Iowa G Tavion Bank — Iowa’s Tavion Banks (6) reacts during a game against the Illinois Fighting Illini Jan. 11, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Banks tied a team high 20 points against USC in a game that showed plenty of rust from the Hawkeyes. Having a week off will do that to a team, and oddly enough it was a pair of free throws from Bennett Stirtz that led them to victory.

It’s not like Banks is shooting 100% from the charity stripe, but he hasn’t missed a free throw sine December 20. He went 8-8 against USC and was recently 9-9 against Indiana. His last miss came against Bucknell, a game where he still finished 7-8 from the line.

Stirtz’ 98 attempts are by far the most on the team. Banks has attempted 73 free throws so far this year while the next closest are Tate Sage (44) and Cam Manywau (43). Of qualified shooters, Banks is technically fourth on the team with his 80.8%. Keep in mind, he’s trailing Brendan Hausen who’s a perfect 11-11 and Kael Combs who is 25-29. To no surprise, Stirtz is third at 83.7%.

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