Inside The Hawkeyes

Iowa's Offense Must Come Alive vs. Maryland

The Iowa Hawkeyes have one clear path to taking down Maryland.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Iowa forward Tavion Banks (6) tries to rebound during the 74-69 win over Ole Miss at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., on Nov. 25, 2025.
Iowa forward Tavion Banks (6) tries to rebound during the 74-69 win over Ole Miss at Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., on Nov. 25, 2025. | Taya Gray/The Desert Sun / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

After losing their first game of the season, the Iowa Hawkeyes had just a few days to regroup before hosting Maryland. The now 7-1 (0-1) Hawkeyes are looking for their first B1G win of the Ben McCollum era, and it's a win that could very well come against the 6-3 Terrapins.

Make no mistake about it, this Maryland team can compete. They've faced a daunting schedule thus far which includes a win over Marquette. The Golden Knights may not be as dominant as they once were, but that's still a big win to have on their resume. Other than that, they've played a pair of ranked teams, No. 12 Gonzaga and No. 8 Alabama.

Iowa Eyes Triple Digits vs. Maryland

Basketball is an interesting game as one night a team could drop 100 points and the next night they finish with 60. Iowa had an intriguing back-to-back stretch at the Acrisure Classic where they picked up a huge 74-69 win over Ole Miss and followed it up with a 59-46 win over Grand Canyon.

Iowa will need to rely on their offense against a Maryland team that's allowing 78 points per game. Sure, the Terrapins have played one more game than the Hawkeyes, but Iowa is foaming at the mouth after seeing how many points this team allowed at the Players Era Festival.

Granted, playing Gonzaga and Alabama is no easy feat, but it showed the Terrapins were nowhere near ready to compete against the top teams in the nation. Iowa just had a wake-up call as they scored a season low 52 points against No. 7 Michigan State.

Maryland's Defense is Not Up to Par

There's no doubt McCollum has brought up Maryland's defense time and time again during film studies. Both teams played last on December 2, which means they had just a few days to get ready for their conference matchup, which just so happens to be Maryland's first of the season.

On paper, this game looks extremely interesting. Iowa's slow paced offense is far from a team that can score 100+ consistently, though they did so in McCollum's debut against Robert Morris. That said, Iowa has just one player averaging double digits while the Terrapins have four.

If this game turns into a shootout, it will likely favor the Hawkeyes. As long as a few people are hot and they don't have to rely on Bennett Stirtz for everything, Iowa will be just fine. Heading into the game, they're 11.5-point favorites for what should be an electric atmosphere as it's stripe out night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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