After a disappointing start to the Big Ten Conference schedule, Iowa Men's Basketball bounced back in a big way on Saturday night.
The Hawkeyes were a perfect 7-0 entering last Tuesday's matchup against Michigan, and they were humbled by the Spartans in East Lansing.
Iowa struggled shooting the basketball, finishing the game at 37.8 percent shooting from the field and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc.
They also only shot 64.7 percent from the free-throw line during a rough night all-around.
Bennett Stirtz led the scoring with 14 points, but was flustered throughout the game by Michigan State's defensive pressure.
The Hawkeyes needed some home cooking and got back on track against Maryland with a dominating 83-64 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
After the victory, Head Coach Ben McCollum secured his first Big Ten Conference win.
Stirtz returned to form with a 25-point outburst against the Terrapins, while Cam Manyawu added 12 points and seven rebounds.
Tate Sage also added 12 points and Cooper Koch added 11.
Iowa must continue forcing turnovers to combat its lack of size
The Hawkeyes had a glaring weakness in the big loss to Michigan State: their size in the paint.
Michigan State dominated Iowa on the glass, outrebounding the Hawkeyes 37 to 18, including 12 on the offensive glass.
Iowa also had no answer for the Spartans inside, allowing them to shoot 50 percent from the field in the loss.
Michigan State has not followed the norm in college basketball over the past few years, preferring to force the ball inside rather than shoot a high number of threes.
Can Iowa survive on offense when Stirtz does not drop 20-plus points?
Everyone knows how important Stirtz is to the Iowa offense, and when he is taken away or limited, can the Hawkeyes find other ways to score?
Against Michigan State, the answer was a resounding no, as the Hawkeye offense went long stretches without scoring a basket.
In the win over Maryland, Stirtz was efficient and dropped 25 points to lead the way for the offense.
Iowa has the pieces, but it remains to be seen if the rest of the squad can score at a high level without a big night from Stirtz.
Next game: Thursday, December 11 at Iowa State (Ames, IA) at 7:00 p.m. Central Time