Most Rebel fans likely had never heard the name Bennett Stirtz before Tuesday night when the Rebels and Hawkeyes tipped off in the Acrisure Classic tournament.
All of that quickly changed as the senior
Iowa (6-0) guard went off for 29 points including six of eight from beyond the arc to lead the Hawkeyes to a 74-69 win over Ole Miss (5-1). The rest of the Iowa team shot 2/14 from three point range in one of those “who is guarding that guy?” games where seemingly one player controls the outcome.
It wasn’t all Stirtz’s sharpshooting, however, as the tempo of the game was like watching paint dry at times. Ole Miss was held to its lowest halftime total (31) and lowest point total of the season on Tuesday. Iowa regularly took the shot clock down to the final seconds, took advantage of a +6 turnover margin, and used the seven additional shots overall compared to Ole Miss to seal the game.
This was like watching a team from the late 1980’s. Frustratingly solid in fundamentals, overmatched athletically, but somehow pulled out a win. I say overmatched athletically, because the Rebels had seven blocks to only one from the Hawkeyes as the defense seemed to swarm and easily swat shots at times.
It wasn’t all bad for the Rebels though as the team shot 17/20 from the free throw line and made 47 percent of its shots from the field. The story of the game was the turnovers and protecting possession, which is typically a penchant of a Chris Beard coached team. I have zero doubts some asses were chewed in postgame.
Ole Miss will now face Utah on Wednesday night in the consolation game of the Acrisure Classic. Iowa goes on to play Grand Canyon in the championship game.
