Iowa

Iowa men’s basketball puts on impressive shooting display in win over Southern

Published

1 year ago

November 8, 2024

Iowa men’s basketball puts on impressive shooting display in win over Southern

IOWA CITY — Iowa men’s basketball put on an efficient offensive display in its 89-74 win over Southern University on Thursday.

Iowa did not shoot particularly well in the regular-season opener Monday but was scorching hot on Thursday. Against Southern, the Hawkeyes shot 53.3% from the field and 45% from deep. Meanwhile, Southern shot 47.7% from the field and 31.6% from three.

Seven Hawkeyes hit at least one 3-pointer. Iowa made 18 3-pointers as a team.

Iowa got scoring from a variety of players, including five in double-figures: Payton Sandfort, Pryce Sandfort, Owen Freeman, Drew Thelwell and Josh Dix.

Through two games this season, Pryce Sandfort has been an offensive weapon for Iowa. He followed up his 13-point outing against Texas A&M-Commerce with a team-high 22 points on Thursday. The sophomore was an efficient 8-of-10 from the field, including 6-of-8 from deep.

“He’s been playing like that. He really has been since the summer,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of Pryce Sandfort. “Really consistently shooting the ball well, consistently playing well at both ends. Been much more aggressive driving the ball, making plays.

Video: Fran McCaffery discusess Iowa’s win over Southern University

Fran McCaffery discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

Payton Sandfort, who flirted with a triple-double against Texas A&M-Commerce, was in that neighborhood again on Thursday. He finished the game with 17 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. He did commit six turnovers, however.

Reigning Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year Owen Freeman added 15 points and eight rebounds and three blocks on Thursday.

Iowa got off to a much better start on Thursday than it did against Texas A&M-Commerce. The Hawkeyes led by only seven points at halftime Monday and it took until the second half to gain some more substantial separation.

Against Southern, Iowa came out in much more decisive fashion. The Hawkeyes led by as many as 16 in the first half and, even though they hit a lull, held an 11-point advantage at the break.

The Hawkeyes were in pretty clear control for a majority of the contest. Iowa led by 25 with a little more than three minutes remaining but closed the contest in unimpressive fashion, making the final score tighter than it should’ve been.

“I just think we just need to take some more pride in getting stops,” Freeman said. “Because we were up (25). In Big Ten play we might not be up (25). We could be down nine and one of those stops could be huge. So we kinda got to think ahead to the future.”

Owen Freeman: Iowa needs to take ‘more pride in getting stops’ defensively

Owen Freeman discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

Iowa went with the same starting lineup as it did in the exhibition in the regular-season opener: Brock Harding, Josh Dix, Payton Sandfort, Ladji Dembele and Freeman.

Dembele had five points and eight rebounds. Dix scored 14. Harding had three points and six assists.

Along with Pryce Sandfort, Drew Thewell was very good off the bench for the second consecutive game. Thelwell, a Morehead State transfer, pitched in 12 points on 3-of-7 from deep.

Video: Pryce Sandfort talks career-high 22 points in win over Southern

Pryce Sandfort discusses a variety of topics following Iowa’s win over Southern University on Thursday.

Manhattan transfer Seydou Traore missed his second consecutive game due to injury. Iowa coach Fran McCaffery previously described it as a “bum wheel,” but did not seem concerned about it being a long-term issue. Traore’s blend of size and athleticism made him an intriguing offseason addition but his regular-season debut at Iowa continues to be put on hold.

McCaffery was optimistic postgame that Traore will make his Iowa debut on Tuesday.

Iowa plays one more lower-level opponent before taking a step up in competition. The Hawkeyes host South Dakota on Tuesday, but then face Washington State on Friday in Moline, Illinois. The game in the Quad Cities will serve as a homecoming for Freeman and Harding, who won a 4A state championship at Moline High School together as seniors.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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Iowa

Day before helping Iowa beat Nebraska, Aaron Graves became a father

Published

18 hours ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Day before helping Iowa beat Nebraska, Aaron Graves became a father

Aaron Graves had a message for his wife Aubrey before departing for Iowa football’s rivalry game against Nebraska.

“I was like, ‘I’m not leaving you here in the hospital to lose,’” Graves said. “So I was like, ‘We better win this freaking game.’”

Graves echoed a similar sentiment to his fellow defensive linemen before the first drive of the Hawkeyes’ game in Lincoln.

“I was like, ‘Guys, I did not leave my baby in the hospital to lose this game,’” Graves said. “‘So we better freaking come out firing on all cylinders.’”

On Thanksgiving Day in 2025, Grayson Knox Graves was born at 3:07 p.m. On Black Friday in 2025, Graves helped Iowa beat Nebraska 40-16.

“The last 24 hours are probably the craziest of my life, for sure,” Graves said.

He added: “Just like the emotions of all that in the 24-hour time span is just ridiculous. I mean, last (regular-season) game as a senior, getting the win here in Nebraska and wife, obviously, giving birth to our boy, our first-born of our family.”

Aubrey went into labor on Wednesday. There was uncertainty whether Graves would even make it to Friday’s game if she had not yet given birth by kickoff. But those within the program provided support, including head coach Kirk Ferentz.

“He was just super happy for us, called us a bunch of times while we were in the hospital,” Graves said. “It was really just about Aubrey’s well-being and how we’re doing as a family. It was nothing like, ‘You better get to the game, too.’ It was just, ‘How are you guys doing?’ He just cares so much about his players, and you can’t ask for a better coach.”

Gestures like that speak to why Graves ended up at Iowa in the first place.

Once a high-profile prospect from Southeast Valley High School in Gowrie, Graves made his college decision long before signing day. Even though he was a member of the 2022 high school class, Graves committed to the Hawkeyes in June of 2019.

“Incredibly grateful,” Graves said of Ferentz’s support while Graves’ wife was in labor. “People ask me all the time like, ‘Why did you choose Iowa so young?’ That’s why. Because I get to play for an awesome man.”

Grayson was due in January of 2026, which could have brought a different set of challenges with the timing of his birth.

Graves is a finalist for the 2025 William V. Campbell Trophy, given to college football’s premier scholar-athlete. He is scheduled to attend an awards dinner in Las Vegas on Dec. 9. Plus, the Hawkeyes are likely to play their bowl game around the new year.

“Something that we’ve been praying about for a long time is just the timing of Grayson,” Graves said. “Because we didn’t know, like with the bowl game, how all that was going to work and going to Vegas here in a couple of weeks for the award banquet. Aubrey was going to stay home and she was really stressing about that, and I know that’s been at the top of our prayer list for a while. Both of our moms have been praying about good timing on it.”

It turned out to be fitting that Grayson was born on Thanksgiving Day.

“It was kind of funny because we found out on Easter that we were having a baby, and then he was born on Thanksgiving,” Graves said. “So my mom was like, he must really like holidays.”

Video: Aaron Graves became father the day before helping Iowa beat Nebraska

Aaron Graves meets with media after Iowa football’s 40-16 win over Nebraska.

Graves did not travel with the team to Nebraska. Iowa general manager and chief of staff Tyler Barnes stayed back with Graves. They flew on a donor’s plane to Nebraska, arriving around 10 p.m. the night before the game.

The game against Nebraska was Graves’ 51st appearance as a Hawkeye. He has been a consistent force on the Hawkeyes’ defensive line, starting each of the Hawkeyes’ last 25 games.

Iowa did not come out firing on all cylinders against Nebraska like Graves wanted. Nebraska running back Emmett Johnson shredded Iowa on the ground in the first half, rushing for 177 yards before the halftime break. Iowa led by eight points at the intermission.

“Just some guys getting out of the gaps a few times,” Graves said. “That was the main part. In the second half, it was more just, we need to tackle this guy. We need to wrap him up and actually get him to the ground. Stay in your gap and then get off the ball when he actually gets to your gap.”

It was an entirely different story after halftime. As a team, Nebraska totaled just 42 rushing yards in the second half. Iowa’s offense piled on points as the Hawkeyes turned the game into a blowout. Graves finished the game with two tackles and one pass breakup.

“Hats off to them, they’ve got a really good player in the backfield (Emmett Johnson),” Graves said. “He’s a great player and he made some good plays, but we kind of rallied there and found ways to stop him. That’s something that we like to take pride in, stopping the run.”

Grayson was on Graves’ mind quite often on game day. Asked what in particular he was thinking about, Graves got choked up and could barely muster a response. But he did get out a few words.

“Just how much I love him,” Graves said.

Graves followed through on his word: He didn’t leave his wife in the hospital to lose.

Iowa won the freaking game.

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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Iowa

Iowa wrestling transfer eyes national title after Division III success

Published

2 days ago

November 28, 2025

Press Room

Iowa wrestling transfer eyes national title after Division III success

IOWA CITY, Iowa (KCRG) – Iowa wrestling is hoping to break through and win a national title, as they want to every year.

In the 197-pound weight class, there’s one former Wartburg competitor that might be able to contribute towards that. Massoma Endene is now a Hawkeye, coming to the black-and-gold following a national champion three-peat in Division III at Wartburg.

He’s reached one of the pinnacle programs of college wrestling, and has the same thing on his mind.

“My goal is to be a National Champion again,” Endene said.

Stepping up to Division I competition

Head coach Tom Brands knows it’s a tougher test.

“This is big boy now. Not saying that his accomplishments are little boy. But he has, you alluded to his skill level. He’s tremendously athletic and gifted. There’s a lot of things that he does very well on the mat. I think that he knows that he has to up it,” Brands said.

Endene might be able to improve quickly just like he’s done his whole wrestling career.

He didn’t start the sport until high school, and might never have if he was a bit better on the pitch.

“I wasn’t the greatest at soccer. I had to switch to a different sport. My brothers were really good and they kind of told me like, ‘Hey it’s probably not the sport for you,’” Endene said.

Making up for lost time

What the transfer lacks in experience, he gains in the determination to catch up to more veteran wrestlers.

“They’ve been wrestling their whole lives, but I think the fact that we’re here at the same level, it doesn’t really matter. I’ve put the same amount of time, if not more. I believe I put in more time than most of these guys. To me, that’s not really a barrier, it’s just another thing I want to achieve,” Endene said.

Even if there was a barrier, he’s blasted through it.

His last second comeback against an All-American last week proved it.

Unexpected opportunity

But all this almost never happened.

Endene competed at the junior college level that used to cost a year of eligibility.

He was surprised this offseason, when he found out that was no longer the case and he had another shot.

“Then I learned about the year that I actually do have. So then I was like, ‘Well college for another year isn’t too bad.’ So I just did that for one more year, and ended up at the best college,” Endene said.

Endene will look to once again be the nation’s best at 197 pounds.

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How Iowa basketball navigated California trip to win Acrisure Classic

Published

2 days ago

November 27, 2025

Press Room

How Iowa basketball navigated California trip to win Acrisure Classic

PALM DESERT, Calif. — It’s not just the loud moments from the trip to California that we can learn something about this Iowa basketball team.

Those are much easier to see. Bennett Stirtz’s 29-point outburst against Ole Miss. Cooper Koch’s emergence. Isaia Howard’s 19-point performance against Grand Canyon.

It’s also possible to learn something about the Hawkeyes in the quieter moments.

Head coach Ben McCollum shed light on one in particular after Iowa’s 59-46 win over Grand Canyon on Nov. 26.

Senior Brendan Hausen’s playing time so far at Iowa (11.1 minutes per game) looks drastically different from what it did at Kansas State last season (27.6 minutes per game). But Hausen, who transferred to Iowa for his last ride in college basketball, willingly gave up time on the court in the Hawkeyes’ first game of the Acrisure Classic.

Hausen was supposed to check into the game against Ole Miss. But Koch was playing so well that Hausen thought it would be better for Koch to stay on the floor.

“Brendan came back and he said, ‘Let’s just leave him in,’” McCollum recalled. “That’s a senior that’s played extended minutes at a high level that did that. I’m thankful for guys like him. We’re blessed to be able to coach guys like him (that) allows us to be great. His ability to sacrifice and everybody on this team’s ability to sacrifice is pretty special.”

Video: Iowa basketball celebrates Acrisure Classic title in Palm Desert

Iowa basketball defeated Ole Miss and Grand Canyon to capture the Acrisure Classic title.

That Iowa won the Acrisure Classic is not a monumental statement. It was just a four-team field, which required winning two games to be crowned the champion. But in McCollum’s first season as head coach, the trip to California helped peel back some layers back layers about who the Hawkeyes are.

After handling the first five games on their schedule with relative ease, the Hawkeyes faced some real adversity for the first time this season.

Ole Miss was the most formidable opponent that Iowa has faced to date. After a tie score at halftime, the Hawkeyes made the necessary plays down the stretch of the game to come away with the most notable win of the McCollum era so far.

Iowa played Grand Canyon the very next evening, which presented a challenge unique to Ole Miss. The Lopes had a strong contingent of fans, band and cheerleaders present. It was not the type of atmosphere that Iowa will face on Dec. 2 at Michigan State, but it was the closest the Hawkeyes have been to playing a road game this season.

Grand Canyon was the aggressor to start the game, building a 10-4 lead. But the Hawkeyes turned the tide, using a 9-0 run to seize momentum and never gave up the lead from there.

“They had a great crowd here,” McCollum said. “That’s what we said, hey, we’re going to treat this like it’s a Big Ten road game. And they jumped on us quick, just like could happen in the Big Ten. But how do you respond to that? How do you survive that? I thought our kids did a good job of surviving it.”

Video: Ben McCollum reacts to Iowa basketball’s win over Grand Canyon

Ben McCollum meets with media after Iowa basketball’s 59-46 win over Grand Canyon.

Iowa’s shooting during this two-game stint was almost as dry as the air in Palm Desert. The Hawkeyes went a combined 42% from the field and 34% from deep against Ole Miss and Grand Canyon.

And yet, the Hawkeyes still won both games.

They did so by taking care of the less glamorous, but just as important areas: Defense, rebounding and energy. Those are the types of things that are much more reliable to carry in March, rather than banking on shooting the lights out.

“Part of winning basketball is it’s not going to always look like it did the first game,” McCollum said. “Sometimes, it’s going to look ugly, and you’ve got to win ugly. That’s the best part about this team. Who can’t win when everything is going your way offensively? Who can’t win? Can you win when things aren’t going your way offensively? Can you survive with other ways? And our kids can.”

The Hawkeyes did it two time zones away from Iowa, playing games on back-to-back days.

“Most teams are like, ‘Ah, we’ve got to play back-to-back. Ah, my body’s hurting,’” said Bennett Stirtz, who played all 80 of the possible 80 minutes in Iowa’s two games in Palm Desert. “But not us. We kind of embraced the challenge. We’re like, hey, this is what we’re going to do. It’s here and we’ve got to play as hard as we can. Who cares about our body. We get rest the next couple of days. So we were just attacking it.”

Video: Iowa basketball’s Bennett Stirtz was named Acrisure Class MVP

Bennett Stirtz meets with media after Iowa basketball’s 59-46 win over Grand Canyon.

The trip to California gave the team time to spend with each other off the court, which included an unexpected celebrity cameo.

Brad Floy, the program’s athletic trainer, texted forward Alvaro Folgueiras after seeing golfer Jon Rahm at a restaurant. Rahm, who has won The Masters and U.S. Open, is a native of Spain, like Folgueiras.

“We talked a little bit about our Spanish roots, about our hometowns and life pretty much,” said Folgueiras, who is a notoriously bad golfer. “It was a short conversation. But I took advantage (to) ask him about some golf tips. So Iowa City better be ready now.”

Iowa’s successful outing in Palm Desert is not the end-all be-all — there is still so much season still left. But it was valuable for a team that is growing into what it wants to become.

“We definitely matured on this road trip, and I think we have a lot to learn from,” Kael Combs said. “It was definitely a good experience.”

Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com

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