Iowa's Bennett Stirtz Ends Regular Season With Unfathomable Stat

This Iowa Hawkeyes team simply wouldn't be the same without Bennett Stirtz.

Mar 5, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) is recognized at senior day before the game against the Michigan Wolverines at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

It's impossible to argue that Bennett Stirtz hasn't made an impact with this Iowa Hawkeyes squad.

First year head coach Ben McCollum has quite a storied relationship with the future NBA draft pick, and it's going to be incredibly sad to not see them together after this season.

Having spent so much of his collegiate career under McCollum, Iowa's coach knows Stirtz' limits arguably better than anyone else.

With the regular season now concluded, Stirtz last 15 games are something to behold. In that span he's played 595 minutes, meaning he's been off the court for only 10 minutes in a 15-game sample size.

Stirtz Has Been Out of This World Since January 14

Iowa's Bennett Stirtz ends the regular season sitting just TEN minutes in his last 15 games played 🤯

Of a possible 605 minutes, he played 595 of them 🔥 pic.twitter.com/2m8GL06DdR

— DraftKings (@DraftKings) March 8, 2026

The Hawkeyes matchup at No. 5 Purdue on January 14 started this trend that simply doesn't feel real. Stirtz has played the full 40 minutes in 10 of those 15 games, and that includes his recent 45 minute performance against No. 9 Nebraska.

Stirtz played 37 minutes against the Boilermakers, 38 against Indiana, Oregon, and Purdue again, and then 39 against Ohio State. That accounts for his 10 minute absence in a 15-game stretch. Clearly, McCollum has more trust in Stirtz than anyone, and for good reason.

While his last 15 games are extremely impressive, Stirtz has been doing this all year long. He played the full 40 minutes in Iowa's second and third game of the year. From there, he played the full 40 against Ole Miss, Grand Canyon, and Iowa State prior to the January 14 trend that needs to be seen to be believed.

Iowa Would be Nothing Without Stirtz

A senior from Liberty, Missouri

No. 14, Bennett Stirtz 🖤 pic.twitter.com/kFK01sNswh

— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) March 4, 2026

It's hard for one single player to impact the game quite as much as Stirtz does. He's been touted as a Top 25 player in the nation, and it's not hard to see why. The Hawkeyes 20-11 (10-10) record certainly leaves room for growth, but it's not like Stirtz has been the reason for their demise in the team's final eight games. If anything, it's the opposite.

Stirtz has been the leading scorer 21 times this season, and that includes a stretch of eight straight games from February 1 to the 25th. What he's doing is something most B1G teams simply can't comprehend, and it's going to be impossible to replicate.

No matter what Iowa does in the offseason, it's going to take years to find another player like Stirtz. Ultimately, they need to make the most of it with an impressive run in the B1G tournament followed by at least one win in March Madness.

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