How to Watch No. 9 Nebraska Basketball at Iowa with Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

It definitely wasn't the cleanest game the No. 9 Nebraska men's basketball team had played this season, but a stifling second-half defense and offensive firepower from Pryce Sandfort paved the way for a NU bounce-back win over Northwestern, calming the waters after a heartbreaking loss to No. 13 Purdue earlier that week.

After coming up just short of upsetting No. 2 Michigan earlier in the week, the Wildcats remained optimistic about another opportunity to knock off a top-10 opponent. Northwestern was able to force 18 Nebraska turnovers, twisting those into 27 points, but a 34.8% performance from the field in the second half let down NW. The Huskers outscored the Wildcats 40-22 in the final 20 minutes as Sandfort poured in a game-high 29 points, including six of the team's 11 three-pointers.

Sam Hoiberg added 14 points while Cale Jacobsen joined his teammates in double figures with 10 off the bench. While the drop in competition played its part, Nebraska responded well in the rebounding department after an awful showing against Purdue, outrebounding the Wildcats 40-24 despite being equal with points in the paint (26).

Clinging on to a very luxurious fourth-place standing in the Big Ten, Nebraska now enters enemy territory as it heads east to take on its neighboring rival for a late Tuesday night showdown. Here's all you need to know.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: No. 9 Nebraska (22-3, 11-3 B1G) at Iowa (18-7, 8-6 B1G)
When: Tuesday, February 17
Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena, Iowa City, Iowa
Time: 8 p.m. CST
Watch: Big Ten Network
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Iowa Scout

Head Coach

Ben McCollum | 1st season at Iowa; 17th as HC
18-7 (.720) at Iowa; 444-102 (.813) Career Record
4x NCAA DII National Champion, 1x NCAA DI Tournament
1x MVC regular season & tournament, 12x MIAA regular season, 8x MIAA tournament
5x NABC DII Coach OTY, 3x Clarence Gaines Award, 8x MIAA Coach OTY, 1x MVC Coach OTY
Previous head coach at Drake and Northwest Missouri State (DII)
Previous assistant at Emporia State and Northwest Missouri State

2024-2025 Record & Awards

Record: 17-16 (7-13 B1G, T-12th)
Finish: Did not qualify for the postseason
All-B1G: 1x Honorable Mention

All-Time Series

Iowa leads 27-15
March 9, 2025, last matchup, 83-68 Iowa

After a breakout season at Iowa, forward Owen Freeman (32) has collapsed after his transfer to Creighton. | Steven Branscombe-Imagn Images

Key Returners

Cooper Koch | F | R-Fr. | One of two returners from last season, the Illinois native has cracked the starting lineup with 6.7 PPG after being put on a medical redshirt last season.
Jacob Koch | G | Soph. | Iowa City native who's rarely seen action in his first two seasons and was the only holdover after Iowa's coaching change from the offseason.

Key Departures

Payton Sandfort | F | Graduated | Veteran forward who led the Hawkeyes in scoring (16.7), leading to an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention award.
Owen Freeman | F | Transfer | Sophomore standout that matched Sandfort in scoring last season, but has collapsed after transferring to Creighton over the offseason.
Josh Dix | G | Transfer | The last of the trio that put up double-digit scoring for Iowa last season (14.4) and has fared better in Omaha after his transfer to Creighton alongside Freeman.
Drew Thelwell | G | Graduated | Graduate student transfer from Morehead State, who put up 9.5 points per game while starting in 20 of his 29 appearances.
Pryce Sandfort | F | Transfer | Younger brother of Payton, the 6-foot-7 forward is now one of the pillars for Nebraska's breakout 2025-2026 season.
Brock Harding | G | Transfer | Started in 24 of his 33 games last season while scoring 8.8 points per game, but transferred to TCU following the coaching change.
Seydou Traore | F | Another young sophomore that started in nearly half of his games last season; transferred to Utah after dropping in 5.9 points per game last year.
Ladji Dembele | F | Transfer | 6-foot-8 forward that added 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore before transferring to UNLV.
Even Brauns | F | Graduated | Depth piece that logged a few points per game in 26 games off the bench as part of his final season in college basketball.

Iowa guard Tavion Banks (#6) was the MVC Sixth Man of the Year last season at Drake before averaging 10.9 PPG in Iowa City. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

Impact Transfers/Newcomers

Bennett Stirtz | G | Sr. | Returning All-American who has followed McCollum from all of Northwest Missouri State, Drake, and now Iowa, where he leads the team in scoring (20.4), assists (118), and three-pointers made (62).
Tavion Banks | G/F | Sr. | Named last season's MVC Sixth Man of the Year and followed McCollum to Iowa City, where he's putting up 10.9 points per game.
Alvaro Folgueiras | F | Jr. | 6-foot-10 native of Spain who was named the Horizon League Player of the Year last season at Robert Morris, but has struggled some in the Big Ten with 8.2 points per game and just short of four rebounds.
Cam Manyawu | F | Jr. | A two-time transfer from Wyoming and Drake, the junior hasn't yet matched his production from last season with 6.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game as a starter.
Tate Sage | G | Fr. | 6-foot-7 Oklahoma native who scores over six points per game as one of Iowa's best reserves.
Isaia Howard | G | Soph. | Played in 30 games as a freshman at Drake with McCollum before making his way to Iowa City, where he adds 5.9 points per game.
Kael Combs | G | Jr. | After being a reserve at Drake for McCollum last year, the three-time transfer has scored 5.8 PPG while starting in 21 of his 25 appearances this season.

Outlook

After a disappointing 17-16 record last season and missing any type of postseason since the 2017-2018 campaign, Iowa parted ways with 15-year head coach Fran McCaffery, paving the way with fast-rising star Ben McCollum.

Heralded as a coaching savant in his 15 years at Northwest Missouri State, where he won four Division II national championships, McCollum parlayed his success into the head coaching role with Drake for the 2024-2025 season. There was no downturn in success despite moving up to Division I as the Bulldogs teamrolled the Missouri Valley Conference en route to a 31-4 record and a finish in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. That's all he needed to convince the decision makers at Iowa to put him in charge of a program looking to make the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999.

The roster turnover was heavy, as the Hawkeyes only brought back the duo of Cooper and Jacob Koch. After earning a medical redshirt following his injury from last season, Cooper has carved out a starting role this year with 6.7 points per game. Otherwise, most of the difference makers for Iowa came through the portal or followed McCollum from Drake.

The biggest follower ended up being returning All-American Bennett Stirtz, who's fourth in the Big Ten in scoring (20.4) and one of only five players in the conference to average more than 20 points per game. He's also the team leader in assists and three-pointers made, making him one of the most dangerous players in the country. However, the scoring depth drops off from there. Last season's MVC Sixth Man of the Year, Tavion Banks, ranks second on the team with 10.9 points per game, while fellow Drake transfers Cam Manyawu (6.7 PPG), Isaia Howard (5.9), and Kael Combs (5.8) all make contributions.

Returning All-American and Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (14) ranks fourth in the Big Ten in scoring with 20.4 points per game as a junior. | Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images

McCollum wasn't afraid to go beyond his Drake transfers, pulling in last year's Horizon League Player of the Year and 6-foot-10 Spain native Alvaro Folgueiras from Robert Morris. As expected, he's not matching his production in the Big Ten, but he's adding 8.2 points per game as the top reserve off the bench. Plus, true freshman guard and Oklahoma native Tate Sage has chipped in six points a contest.

On paper, both teams are built in a similar way and rank right near each other in both field goal and three-point percentage. The Hawkeyes perimeter play is one of the best in the conference, tying for the conference lead in steals per game at 7.3, but that's only 0.1 behind the Huskers (7.2). The x-factor could be rebounding, where Iowa is ranked 17th out of the 18-team Big Ten in rebounds per game (29.9). For comparison's sake, Northwestern ranks right above Iowa in 16th and Nebraska dominated the Wildcats in the paint 40-24.

As the first-ever meeting between the two schools, including a new coach looking to build trust with his fanbase, I see this game being a nail-biter. Especially when you factor in that Tuesday night will be Iowa's Black Out at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which is already one of the tougher venues in the conference. Don't mistake those data points for doubt, because I got Nebraska winning, especially if they can control the rebounding battle.

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