In his first year as head coach at Iowa, Ben McCollum is proud to see how resilient his players have proven to be.
McCollum wishes he could take more credit for it, however.
No. 19 Iowa (12-2, 2-1 Big Ten Conference) climbed six spots in this week’s Top 25 and will look to maintain its hot start when it faces Minnesota (9-5, 2-1) on Tuesday evening in Minneapolis.
The Hawkeyes are going for their fifth win in a row. They are coming off a 74-61 victory at home against UCLA that showed McCollum and everyone else about the group’s physical and mental toughness.
“You recruit it,” McCollum said. “You recruit tough kids. Everybody talks about this culture thing of like you can just develop this immaculate culture. You really can’t. You have to get the right people. If you don’t have the right people, then you’re not going to be resilient.
“Now, you can strengthen some of that resiliency through some of our practices (that) are very difficult. I put them in tough situations consistently to develop that resiliency, to understand how to respond. So yeah, we’ve developed some of it but more importantly I recruit kids that are resilient kids, that are tough kids.”
Bennett Stirtz leads Iowa with 17.8 points per game to go along with a team-high 5.2 assists per contest. He also leads the team with 1.8 steals per game.
Alvaro Folgueiras is next with 9.7 points per game, and Tavion Banks rounds out the top three scorers with 9.6 points per contest. All three are shooting better than 41 percent from 3-point range.
Meanwhile, Minnesota also is going for its fifth win in a row. The Golden Gophers are coming off an 84-78 win on the road against Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.
Cade Tyson leads Minnesota with 22.1 points per game in his first season since transferring from North Carolina. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is averaging 13.0 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds, and Isaac Asuma is averaging 10.4 points.
Minnesota coach Niko Medved praised his team’s ability to score points in the paint after the victory over Northwestern. It is something he wants to see continue as the Golden Gophers turn their attention to Iowa.
“We are a team that really emphasizes cutting a lot,” Medved said. “Love the paint, like the three. I thought our spacing was pretty good.”
Like Iowa, Minnesota has prided itself on staying calm during up-and-down games.
“That’s the way it goes,” Medved said. “Basketball is a game of runs, and you have to stay resilient. You’ve got to stay in the moment and stay with the things that you do to allow you to be successful. … It’s just having the guts to step up and make plays when you need to.”
Both teams have enjoyed a good start under their first-year coaches.
Minnesota has not lost since Dec. 10 at then-No. 6 Purdue. Iowa has not lost since Dec. 11 at then-No. 4 Iowa State.
McCollum said it was easy to pinpoint his favorite part of the season so far.
“It’s the people,” McCollum said. “I love practice. The games are fun for the players. I love practice. …
“They’re just great kids and they’re fun to coach, fun to be around.”
–Field Level Media
