After a bad few weeks for the Hawkeyes, including losing six of eight games to end the regular season, Iowa finally halted the losing streak.
The squad got off to another slow start against Maryland in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, but the offense finally woke up and pushed Iowa to the next round.
Star guard Bennett Stirtz struggled shooting all game, missing some wide-open looks, but another Hawkeye stepped up in a big way.
Cooper Koch has been on fire from three-point range lately, and Stirtz had all the confidence in the world that he was going to knock down shots.
Stirtz expressed confidence in Koch after he scored a career-high 19 points
Koch has become Iowa's x-factor on the offensive end. When he gets hot from deep, it makes Iowa even more difficult to guard.
Stirtz is usually Iowa's leading scorer, but against Maryland, that honor fell to Koch, who knocked in a career-high 19 points and guided Iowa to a big win.
Stirtz acknowledged during postgame that he was confident every time he threw the ball to Koch, it was going in.
Bennett Stirtz on Cooper Koch, who had a career-high 19 points: “Every time I threw it to him, I thought his shot was going in."
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) March 11, 2026
Koch knocked down five three-pointers in the win, a growing trend for the budding sharpshooter.
During Iowa's past three games, Koch has knocked down 12 three-pointers, including six in an overtime loss to Nebraska to close out the regular season.
Stirtz is the straw that stirs the drink on offense, but Koch has become Iowa's offensive x-factor with his ability to stretch the floor.
Iowa will need Koch's shooting to advance past Ohio State in the third round of the Big Ten Tournament and continue a deep March run.