ON THE AIR
Radio: Games are broadcast on the Hawkeye Radio Network with Gary Dolphin (play-by-play) and Bobby Hansen (color) on the call. The network includes more than 40 stations that blanket the state of Iowa and includes portions of Illinois, Nebraska, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin. The Hawkeye Radio Network includes a 60-minute pregame show.
TV: Both games of the Acrisure Classic will be televised on the CBS Sports Network with Ed Cohen (play-by-play) and Dan Dickau (color) on the call.
OPENING TIP
• The Hawkeyes bring a 5-0 record to Palm Springs and into Tuesday’s neutral site game against Ole Miss at the Acrisure Classic.
• Tuesday’s game is Iowa’s first against an SEC opponent since 2023 (vs. Auburn in NCAA Tournament).
• Head coach Ben McCollum is the fourth Iowa coach all-time to open his tenure with five consecutive wins, joining Ed Role, Bucky O’Connor and Dr. Tom Davis.
• The Hawkeyes are leading the nation with a .576 field goal percentage, which includes a .655 effective field goal percentage. Iowa is shooting 70 percent on two-point field goals.
• Iowa’s reserves have scored 50 points in consecutive games and the bench players are averaging 40 points during the team’s first five games.
• Senior guard Bennett Stirz is averaging 17.6 points with .574/.450/.893 shooting splits, while averaging 6.2 assists, three rebounds and 1.8 steals. He ranks in the top 15 in the Big Ten in points, assists and steals.
• Amongst active players, Stirtz is the only player nationally ranked in the top 10 in points (1,706) and assists (463) and he is one of six to have 1,500 points and 350 assists.
• Senior Tavion Banks posted Iowa’s first double-double of the season (18th of his career), finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds on Nov. 20 against Chicago State.
• Junior Alvaro Folgueiras is averaging 12.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.4 steals. He has 16 assists and zero turnovers in five games, while shooting 65.6 percent from the field and 52.6 percent from 3-point range.
• Iowa is receiving votes in both the Associated Press and Coaches’ rankings in Week 3. The Hawkeyes are 38th in both polls.
• Iowa’s 12-player transfer portal class was ranked eighth nationally by 247Sports.
• Stirtz is a preseason All-American by CBS Sports, Field of 68, Jon Rothstein and Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook and he’s on the Wooden, Naismith, Oscar Robertson Trophy and NABC Division I National Player of the Year Watch List.
SCOUTING OLE MISS
• The Rebels bring a 5-0 record into the Acrisure Classic with all five victories coming at home. Ole Miss’ best win came on Nov. 11 — an 83-77 victory over Memphis.
• Ole Miss has three players averaging in double figures with Illias Kamardine leading the way at 15.8 points to go along with a team-high 26 assists, nine steals and 10 3-pointers.
• Malik Dia (14.4) and A.J. Storr (14.4) are also in double figures. Storr is shooting 60 percent (9-of-15) from 3-point range to lead the team. James Scott averages a team-high 6.8 rebounds.
• The Rebels are averaging 82.2 points, while shooting 46.8 percent as a team and 37.8 percent from 3-point range.
• Ole Miss averages 40.8 rebounds and is +6.6 on the glass, while committing just nine turnovers per contest.
• Storr played in the Big Ten at Wisconsin two seasons ago and was at Kansas in 2024-25.
• Chris Beard is in his third season at Ole Miss. He led the Rebels to the Sweet 16 last season.
SERIES HISTORY
• Tuesday’s game is the first meeting between Iowa and Ole Miss in series history.
• The Hawkeyes have played 59 games against current members of the Southeastern Conference. Iowa is 30-29 against the SEC all-time.
• It is Iowa’s first game against an SEC opponent since the 2023 NCAA Tournament — an 83-75 loss to Auburn in the Round of 64. (Iowa played Oklahoma in San Diego in 2023 — a year before the Sooners joined the SEC.)
• The Hawkeyes’ last victory over an SEC opponent came in 2010 — a 55-47 victory over Alabama in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, in the Paradise Jam.
• Iowa is 1-0 all-time against Grand Canyon, winning 86-74 in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes were a No. 2 seed.
• Iowa is 1-2 all-time against Utah, splitting games in each of the last two seasons. The Hawkeyes lost 91-82 in the NIT in Salt Lake City in 2024 before winning a neutral site game, 95-88, in Sioux Falls, S.D., last season.
