Don't look now, but the Iowa Hawkeyes are heating up!
For most fans, it looked like Iowa would never win a road game after an 0-4 start that saw them crash out of the top 25 rankings.
Ben McCollum and his squad have stemmed the tide and are now only one win away from tying the program's win total from last year.
A big part of Iowa's recent resurgence and four-game winning streak is star guard Bennett Stirtz.
He looked off at times this seasonas he adjusted to a higher level of competition, but he has come on strong and is playing some of his best basketball right now.
Bennett Stirtz was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week
With how well the Hawkeyes have played in the first year under Ben McCollum, you would think they would have more conference awards to this point.
After Stirtz's scorching hot week against USC and Oregon, he became the first Hawkeye this season to earn a Big Ten award.
Iowa's Bennett Stirtz has been named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week. In wins over USC and Oregon, Stirtz averaged 26 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game while shooting 66.7% from the field and 60% from deep. pic.twitter.com/oyfOqMmFNO
— Tyler Tachman (@Tyler_T15) February 2, 2026
During two Iowa wins over USC and Oregon, Stirtz was nearly unguardable, averaging 26 points per game on 66.7 percent shooting from the field and 60 percent from beyond the arc.
He also added 4.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
Stirtz was especially good against Oregon, dropping a career-high 32 points and becoming a member of the 2,000-point scorers club.
If there was any doubt that Stirtz could excel at a Power Four Division I program, it has been effectively silenced.
Stirtz is leading the Hawkeyes in points (19.0), assists (5.0), and steals (1.5) per game this season