Iowa Guard Named Co-B1G Player of the Week

The Iowa Hawkeyes are on cloud nine as Bennett Stirtz scored 2,000 career points and was named in the Top 10 for the Bob Cousy Award and is a Co-B1G Player of the Week.

Stirtz is joined alongside Michigan State's Jeremy Fears Jr. as voters were unable to decide which player had the better week.

Regardless, it's the first time since January 13, 2025, that Iowa has had a B1G Player of the Week. Co-player or not, this is still a huge honor for Stirtz who had one of the best weeks of his entire career.

Depending on the severity of Tavion Banks' injury, Iowa may ask even more out of Stirtz these next few weeks. Who knows if that's even possible, but it's clear he has already been able to handle everything thrown his way.

Bennett Stirtz Named Co-B1G Player of the Week

B1G Bennett 🤝 B1G Business @bennett_stirtz x #Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/cwFSOLIMfY
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 2, 2026

Both Stirtz and Fears set new career highs as the Spartan is able to celebrate back-to-back weekly honors. Even though he just won the award last week, he averaged 30.0 points per game along with 8.0 assists and 4.5 rebounds which saw him deserving of being named in the same sentence as Stirtz.

Stirtz averaged 26.0 points in the week with 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.5 rebounds. The B1G noted his tremendous shooting percentage, something they didn't do when it came to Fears. Stirtz shot 66.7% from the floor, 60% from three and was a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.

Those free throws were extremely important to mention as Stirtz knocked down a pair of game winners from the line against USC. With under five seconds remaining, Stirtz drew a crucial foul that allowed him to knock down a pair of free throws to seal Iowa's win over the Trojans.

Quite the Week for Bennett Stirtz

Iowa G Bennett Stirt — Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (14) shoots the basketball against the USC Trojans Jan. 28, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Missouri native crossed the 2,000 point mark against Oregon as he led the way with a career high 32 points. More often than not, Stirtz leads this team in scoring. He's been their leading scorer in seven of their last nine games and has had the most assists in 10 of their last 12.

The way Stirtz handles himself as a point guard is second to none. Many wondered how he'd adjust from Drake to the B1G, but this honor proves he's fitting in just fine. With 10 games remaining on the schedule, including four against Top 12 opponents, Stirtz will have plenty of chances to etch himself as the solo B1G Player of the Week and erase these co-honors.

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