The 3 Things Nebraska Must Do to Defeat Iowa

You might think Nebraska dodged a big one when top-seeded and defending national champion Florida lost to Iowa on Sunday night.

It did.

But for Nebraska, this might be a be careful what you wish for situation.

While the Huskers avoided one of the top teams in America in the Gators in the Sweet 16, they landed another challenge, one that hits closer to home and might be equally as difficult given the history — the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Nebraska (28-6, 4-seed) split two games with Iowa (23-12, 9-seed) this season, each winning at home. In analyzing the two meetings, there are trends that might be relevant Thursday night when Big Ten rivals meet in the Sweet 16 in Houston (6:30 CDT, TBS, truTV) with a spot in the Elite Eight on the line.

For Nebraska to win, these are the three things they *must* do against Iowa.

1. Stop Bennett Stirtz

This is what every Iowa opponent plans to do, with mixed results. Stirtz burned the Huskers in the first meeting, scoring 25 of the Hawkeyes’ 57 points in a 57-52 win at Iowa City on Feb. 17. He scored 10 of Iowa’s final 14 points to help pin the fourth loss of the season on the Huskers.

Iowa loves the pick-and-roll and Stirtz orchestrates it, either getting his own shot or looking for a mismatch on the defensive switch. Stopping this tactic will be high on the Huskers’ priority list.

Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz loses the ball as Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg (1) defends at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Stirtz only scored 11 points in the regular-season finale at Pinnacle Bank Arena on March 8, an 84-75 overtime Nebraska win. He scored 13 against swarming defensive pressure vs. Florida in their second-round NCAA Tournament game Sunday night. But Stirtz helped control the offense — despite shooting only 5-of-16 from the floor — and made the unselfish pass that led to the game-winning three-pointer by Alvaro Folgueiras.

Nebraska has been burned by Stirtz (19.7 points per game, 4.5 assists per game) when he dominates a game. Expect the Huskers to pay extra attention to him, trying to never lose touch. They can’t let him get hot and dictate play. He’s that good.

2. Win on defense

Iowa thrives on defense and is good at it. Ditto, the Huskers.

It’s said defense wins championships. It also might win Sweet 16 games.

Nebraska ranks 15th nationally in defense, allowing 65.8 points per game. Iowa is right there, ranked 17th, allowing 66 points per game.

Nebraska’s field-goal percentage defense is 19th in the nation at 40.1 percent. Iowa’s field-goal percentage defense, oddly, ranks only 280th — seemingly high for the 17th-ranked defense in America. Opponents make 46 percent of shots against the Hawkeyes.

Nebraska needs to get its share of possessions against an Iowa team that tends to play slowly on offense. According to The Athletic, Florida had 61 possessions against Iowa, nearly 11 fewer than the Gators’ average. Iowa won, 73-72.

Fewer possessions keep the opponent’s scoring down, which explains why Iowa’s defensive numbers seemingly are illogical.

Iowa ranks 177th in three-point defense with opponents making 33.7 percent of their shots. Nebraska ranks 94th in three-pointers made at 35.5 percent.

Is this Nebraska’s leverage? Going against a defense that doesn’t defend the three-ball very well? Or an Iowa defense that has allowed a success rate of 46 percent of opponents’ shots?

In what is expected to be a tight game, Nebraska’s defense could be the difference. Iowa averages 74.9 points per game (Nebraska averages 77.1). In the two games this season, the margin in regulation time was four points. That’s two possessions over 80 minutes of play.

3. Win the star battle

NCAA Tournament games can be decided when a star player plays like one. History has shown that. One player gets ridiculously hot and carries his team.

Nebraska’s offensive strength is its balance. Any of the starters are capable of carrying the Huskers to a victory. Off the bench, Braden Frager, Cale Jacobsen and Jared Garcia have had a say in winning games. Four Huskers have made at least 50 shots from distance this season.

And when one player, inevitably, has an off game other players have stepped up. Nebraska is unique that way, with an enviable starting lineup that is versatile and talented, and a bench that can hurt an opponent. The Huskers simply don’t rely on one player to carry the mail.

But in a game where a win can bring you one game away from the Final Four, a star player might determine the outcome. You figure that Stirtz will play well. The most likely Nebraska candidate to match Stirtz, and maybe surpass him? How about former Iowa Hawkeye Pryce Sandfort, a native son from Waukee, Iowa?

Sandfort has scored at least 19 points in 16 games this season. The Huskers are 15-1 in those games, the loss at Michigan, the game when Rienk Mast (illness) and Frager (ankle injury) did not play.

Iowa forward Payton Sandfort celebrates after scoring a three-point basket against Illinois in March 2025. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

March Madness is the perfect venue for heroics and heartwarming stories — “One Shining Moment” and all that. The Sandfort family participated in that last week with big brother Payton playing with his Oklahoma City Thunder in New York last Wednesday night, then pulling off a complicated travel schedule to show up and see Pryce and the Huskers beat Troy in the first-round game in OKC that started Thursday morning. Pryce scored 23 points in the 76-47 win over Troy.

Television loves to show touching stories during March Madness, and viewers eat them up. Payton is an Iowa alum, so will it be school pride over family?

The Thunder is at Boston on Wednesday and back in OKC for a Friday game against Chicago. No Thunder game on Thursday but there is a Huskers-Hawkeyes game that night. And Houston is an 86-minute flight from OKC. Just sayin’.

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