HEAD COACH BEN MCCOLLUM
“Our deal was you do not leave the ball. And we left the ball every possession. Maybe that’s just young, maybe that’s just not communicating the right way, it’s playing with fear rather than aggression.”
“Our deal was you do not leave the ball. And we left the ball every possession. Maybe that’s just young, maybe that’s just not communicating the right way, it’s playing with fear rather than aggression.”
“We left the ball. Like, we consistently left the ball. It’s the same ball screen over and over. One, two, we were also supposed to trap the one kid and we didn’t. So, it’s just a lack of execution, serious lack of execution.”
GAME NOTES
- Iowa suffered its first loss of the 2026-27 season, falling 93-88 to ACC foe Virginia Tech in overtime in The Bad Boy Mowers Series at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa, in front of a crowd of 6,086.
- It was the Hawkeyes’ first game in Sioux City and the first NCAA contest in the city.
- Iowa had four players in double figures: Cooper Koch 26, Ty’Reek Coleman 20, Isaia Howard 13, Kael Combs 10
- Koch reached the 20-point mark for the first time in his career, finishing with a career-high 26 points.
- He made 5-of-11 field goals (one 3-pointer) and went 15-of-17 from the free throw stripe, which were career bests in makes and attempts.
- Koch also had seven rebounds in the game.
- His free throw makes/attempts were the most by a Hawkeye since Payton Sandfort went 18-of-19 in 2024.
- Howard recorded his first career double-double, finishing with 13 points and a career-high 15 rebounds.
- Howard went 3-of-7 from the floor, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and 4-of-6 from the free throw line.
- Howard’s 15 rebounds are the most by a Hawkeye since the 2022-23 season (Kris Murray, 20).
- Coleman reached double figures for the third straight game, netting 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
- It was his first 20-point game as a Hawkeye and the third of his career.
- Fourth-year Andrew McKeever made his season debut, finishing with five points and four rebounds in 10 minutes.
- The Hawkeyes shot 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field, shooting 50 percent for a second straight game.
- Iowa was just 5-of-17 from 3-point range.
- Iowa dominated the Hokies on the boards, winning the rebounding battle, 40-26.
- The Hawkeyes had 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 18 second-chance points
- The Hawkeyes attempted 47 free throws but went just 31-of-47 from the charity stripe.
- Virginia Tech led by as many as eight points in the first half. Trailing 32-26 at the 5:24 mark, Iowa used a 6-0 and 12-2 spurt to build a 38-34 lead. Isaia Howard’s 3-pointer at the 2:33 mark gave the Hawkeyes their first lead at 35-34.
- The Hokies used a Ben Hammond 3-pointer at the buzzer to take a 41-40 lead into the break.
UP NEXT
Iowa returns to action Sunday, playing a neutral site game against Creighton at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
Iowa returns to action Sunday, playing a neutral site game against Creighton at 2 p.m. (CT) at the Casey’s Center in Des Moines, Iowa.
