Inside The Hawkeyes

Massive Second Half Run Leads Iowa to B1G Victory vs. Maryland

Things weren't looking good to start but the Iowa Hawkeyes took care of business against Maryland.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Iowa forward Cooper Koch (8) high-fives Iowa’s Tavion Banks (6) during a Big Ten basketball game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers Feb. 17, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
Iowa forward Cooper Koch (8) high-fives Iowa’s Tavion Banks (6) during a Big Ten basketball game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers Feb. 17, 2026 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes pushed through a sluggish first half as first year head coach Ben McCollum secured his first ever win in the B1G Tournament.

Iowa entered the tournament as the No. 9 seed meaning they received a first round bye. While they would've loved to avoid playing this game, they avoided the upset against No. 17 Maryland.

This is the same Terrapins team that defeated them not long ago, and in the first half it seemed like that was going to be the case once more. Thankfully for McCollum, whatever he said in the locker room worked as Iowa went on a 20-0 second half run.

The Hawkeyes came out on top, 75-64, and now set up a matchup against No. 8 Ohio State in the third round on March 12 at Noon EST.

20-0 Run Secures Iowa Victory

Maryland went into halftime with a one point lead, 26-25. For a team that put up just 25 first half points, the last thing the Terrapins expected was for this Hawkeyes squad to be unleashed.

Iowa has now had a different leading scorer in their last three games as Cooper Koch's 19 points led the way. In their last three it's been Koch, Kael Combs, and Bennett Stirtz, in that order. Either way, it's great to see this team have other shooters get the hot hand as it's been well-documented Stirtz can only do so much.

Koch drilled five of his eight three-point attempts as he was one of four Hawkeyes to finish in double digits. Iowa shot 51% from the field which was a big difference in this game. Maryland may have made more free throws, but their 43% from the field wasn't good enough to get the job done.

Horrific First Half Turned Into 17 Point Lead

After watching how Iowa performed in the first, it would've been justifiable for Hawkeyes fans to turn off their TV and forget about this season entirely. Thankfully, true fans stuck through and knew what this team was capable of. They're in a rough stretch, no doubt, but this is their chance to peak at the right time.

Iowa led by as many as 17 points en route to their 11-point victory. This squad had 36 points in the paint and added 21 points off turnovers which once again was a huge difference maker. Koch's performance certainly helped, but it was a ton of little things that went Iowa's way and contributed to their much needed second round victory.

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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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