Iowa's Two Keys To Victory vs. Northwestern

While the women's team is slumping, the Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball team has certainly come into their own.

First-year head coach Ben McCollum wasn't able to guide these Hawkeyes past any of the ranked teams they've faced, but other than a road loss to Minnesota, they've been nearly flawless.

Having won five in a row, including back-to-back games on the west coast, Iowa knows this game against Northwestern is their perfect opportunity to add another win to their resume.

The Wildcats are three games below .500 and sit at 2-10 in conference play, so on paper, everything favors the Hawkeyes in front of their home crowd on the day of the Super Bowl.

1. Take Away Nick Martinelli

Northwestern F Nick Martinell — Jan 29, 2026; Evanston, Illinois, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) high fives fans after scoring against the Penn State Nittany Lions during the second half at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-Imagn Images | David Banks-Imagn Images

Without their senior forward, who knows how this Wildcats team would look. Martinelli leads the way with a staggering 22.8 points per game, but no one else on his team is particularly close.

It's not like Northwestern has won many games recently (2-8 in 2026), but it doesn't help that their leading scorer had just eight points against No. 5 Illinois.

Putting up 44 is embarrassing, to say the least, and the Fighting Illini held the 6-foot-7 forward to just four points. It was a rare off night from the Illinois native who shot 2-for-10 and was held to just 27 minutes.

It marked only the second time this season that Martinelli was held below double digits this season. No one is asking Iowa to hold him under 10, they just don't need him scoring 30+ like he's done four times already this season.

2. Bennett Stirtz Picks Up Where He Left Off

Super Hoops Sunday 😏 pic.twitter.com/SV2l88SPs2
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) February 8, 2026

Iowa would love a big night from their supporting cast, but it's almost a shoo-in they'll be able to get the job done if Stirtz plays the way he's been playing during this winning streak.

Stirtz, the Co-B1G Player of the Week, has scored 121 points during Iowa's five-game stretch and he's far from satisfied with just that. In quest of being named the best point guard in the country, Stirtz knows he needs to keep up at this pace, which is much easier said than done.

To no surprise, Iowa is favored by quite a wide margin in this one. ESPN Analytics gives them a 83.9% chance to win and the home team enters as 12.5-point favorites. Knowing Northwestern allows an average of 72.5 points per game and Iowa is scoring 78.2 per game, they should have no issue reaching their average en route to a sixth straight win.

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