Iowa Hawkeyes forward Cooper Koch (8) forward Cam Manyawu (3)and Maryland Terrapins forward Solomon Washington (9) go for the ball during the second half at United Center. (Photo: David Banks-Imagn Images)

CHICAGO (AP) — Cooper Koch scored a career-high 19 points, Bennett Stirtz added 17 and the pair fueled a run of 21 straight points to help send Iowa to a 75-64 win over Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday.

Koch made 5 of 8 3-point attempts and Stirtz had eight assists and a team-high six rebounds for the ninth-seeded Hawkeyes (21-11), who snapped a three-game losing streak and will take on eighth-seeded Ohio State in a quarterfinal Thursday. Tavion Banks added 12 points and Cam Manyawu 10.

Darius Adams led the No. 17-seeded Terrapins (12-21) with 14 points. Isaiah Watts made four 3s for his 12 points and David Coit also scored 12 points. Solomon Washington grabbed 13 rebounds.

Koch hit a trio of 3-pointers and Stirtz — who had missed his first seven from the arc — added two more in the 21-0 run that ended with Iowa ahead 51-34 eight minutes into the second half.

Maryland rallied to get the deficit down to nine but Koch hit his fifth 3 to put the lead back into double figures where it remained for the final 6 1/2 minutes.

Watts came off the bench in the first half to make three 3-pointers and the Terrapins sank six straight shots in a 15-0 run for a 21-10 lead. But the Terrapins made just one of their last 12 shots — including nine misses from beyond the 3-point line — over the final eight minutes. Iowa took advantage, outscoring the Terrapins 15-5 to cut the deficit to 26-25.

HEAR FROM IOWA HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“First off, excellent season by Maryland. They gave us fits this game, and the second time we played them they beat us. Coach Williams does a good job. He’s going to get that thing going pretty good. I thought our kids, after the first 10 to 12 minutes, kind of settled in. I don’t know what it was, if it was just the jitters or not used to the environment.

The concentration was pretty low to start, and I think that probably had something to do with the environment maybe, not because it was a big time — it is a big-time place, but more just the conference tournament type of deal. Then we regrouped, settled in, and executed our scout, which was really good.”

IOWA GAME NOTES

• The Hawkeyes advanced to the third round of the Big Ten Tournament with a 75-64 victory over 17th-seeded Maryland on Wednesday afternoon at the United Center in Chicago.
• The win is Iowa’s 21st of the season – the most for the program since the 2021-22 season.
• Head coach Ben McCollum has won 31 consecutive conference tournament postseason games dating back to 2016.
• Iowa improves to 4-0 on neutral courts this season.
• The Hawkeyes have won at least one game in six of the last eight Big Ten Tournaments.
• Trailing 31-27 early in the second half, Iowa used a 21-0 run over a 5 1/2-minute stretch – fueled by four straight 3-pointers from Cooper Koch and Bennett Stirtz — to open a 17-point lead. The 21-0 run was the team’s longest of the season.
  • Iowa went 7-of-13 from 3-point range in the second half.
• Iowa had four players finish in double figures: Cooper Koch (19), Bennett Stirtz (17), Tavion Banks (12), Cam Manyawu (10)
• Koch finished with a career-high 19 points, making 6-of-10 field goals and 5-of-8 from 3-point range.
  • Koch has tied or set a career-high in back-to-back games and in three of the last four contests.
  • He made back-to-back 3-pointers early in the second half to give Iowa a 36-34 lead – the team’s first lead since 10-9 in the first half.
  • Koch has made five or more 3-pointers in three of the last four games. He has 17 3-point field goals during the stretch.
• Stirtz was on triple-double watch, finishing with 17 points, a team-high six rebounds and eight assists to go along with two steals.
  • It was his 11th game with six or more assists this season.
• The Hawkeyes shot 50.9 percent from the field, including 61.5 percent (16-of-26) in the second half.
  • Iowa is 13-5 when it has a higher field goal percentage than their opponent this season.
• Iowa finished 9-of-23 from 3-point range in the victory, which is tied for the seventh-most for the program in the Big Ten Tournament.
  • The Hawkeyes outscored Maryland, 36-24, in the paint.
• Iowa finished with 19 assists – the most for the team since Jan. 11 against Illinois. 
• Iowa scored 21 points off 16 Terrapin turnovers.
• The Hawkeyes won for the sixth time when losing the rebounding battle (6-6 record).
  • Maryland outrebounded Iowa, 34-25.
• Maryland went on a 15-0 run over a 3-minute stretch, to take a 21-10 lead at the 8:40 mark.  The Hawkeyes followed with a 10-3 run over the next six minutes to cut the deficit to 24-20.  The Terps went 1-of-9 during the stretch.
  • Iowa trailed 26-25 at the half despite limiting the Terps to 37.5 percent first-half shooting. 

Up Next

The Hawkeyes return to action Thursday, facing eighth-seeded Ohio State at 11 a.m. (CT) in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament. The game will be televised on BTN.