Iowa upsets No. 9 Nebraska with clutch free-throw shooting, offensive rebounding

One week after the top 10 of the college basketball rankings was littered with upsets, we have another one this week. No. 9 Nebraska (22-4, 11-4 Big Ten) fell on the road at Iowa (19-7, 9-6) by a score of 57-52 in a back-and-forth affair.

Iowa built as large as a 10-point lead late in the first half, then held on down the stretch as Nebraska battled back. The Cornhuskers knotted it up at one point in the second half but could never quite surge in front. Fans rushed the floor as the final whistle blew.

“That was awesome,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said. “Our guys battled the whole night. We obviously had a rough stretch there. But we battled defensively, most important, and we were able to come up with a win.”

Offensive rebounding was a huge factor in the game. Iowa had 12 offensive boards, leading to eight second-chance points. But many came down the stretch, limiting Nebraska’s chances to grab possession to engineer runs.

An offensive foul on Rienk Mast with the score 50-47 and the clock ticking down toward a minute was brutal for the Cornhuskers. The Hawkeyes were fouled on a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, allowing the lead to be extended back to two possessions.

Guard Bennett Stirtz made all three free throws. He finished with a game-high 25 points. Iowa finished 17-of-18 at the free-throw line.

“Always steps up. That’s what he does,” McCollum said. “Makes me look like I can coach a little bit. That was awesome. He was awesome tonight. Hell of a win. We’re excited. Going to go celebrate.”

Nebraska went more than six minutes in a closing segment of the game without a field goal. That proved fatal. For Iowa, it was the first win against a ranked team for the Hawkeyes in McCollum’s tenure. He’s hoping to build on that going forward.

“Keep fighting,” he said. “Do what we did tonight, bottle it up and keep going. Keep fighting defensively like we can.”