Bennett Stirtz excels as Iowa knocks off Northwestern

Field Level Media|published: Sun 8th February, 17:42 2026

Feb 8, 2026; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14) is defended by Northwestern Wildcats guard Jake West (3) during the first half at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Bennett Stirtz scored a career-high 36 points and Tavion Banks added 13 as Iowa defeated visiting Northwestern 76-70 on Sunday in Iowa City, Iowa, to extend its winning streak to six games.

Iowa (18-5, 8-4 Big Ten) eclipsed last season's total for overall and conference victories behind a plus-12 rebounding margin and a 16-point edge in points in the paint.

After leading by as many as 14 points after halftime, the Hawkeyes saw the Wildcats draw within three on Nick Martinelli's jumper with nine minutes left to cap a 7-0 run.

Iowa limited Northwestern to four field goals the rest of the way.

Stirtz, who has scored at least 20 points in each game during the streak, consistently had the answer. He swished a stepback 3-pointer to push the advantage to nine points with 3:38 remaining, while his layup put the Hawkeyes up five with 1:40 to go.

The Wildcats (10-14, 2-11) cut the deficit to 74-70 on a Martinelli trey with 29 seconds left but Cooper Koch got open for a breakaway dunk off the ensuing inbounds pass.

Northwestern entered Sunday averaging 8.2 turnovers per game this season, fewest in NCAA Division I. The Wildcats had eight giveaways in the first half and 10 for the game

Martinelli paced Northwestern with 21 points. Freshman Jake West added a career-best 18 of 7-of-8 shooting, including a fast-break dunk over Alvaro Folgueiras, who stands seven inches taller. Tre Singleton chipped in 10 points for the Wildcats before fouling out.

Martinelli, the Big Ten's leading scorer, and reserves Angelo Ciaravino and Arrinten Page each were whistled for three fouls in the first half.

Iowa took advantage, hitting 17 of 22 free throws en route to taking a 39-35 lead into halftime.

Stirtz shined in the closing minutes. His driving layup with 3:40 left in the first half ended a field goal drought of 3:53 and started a stretch in which he scored 10 successive Iowa points in less than two minutes.

Stirtz influenced the game even when he didn't score, as Jayden Reid was called for a technical foul for trash-talking Stirtz after knocking the ball away on a layup attempt.

Banks grabbed a game-high seven rebounds while Ciaravino led Northwestern with five boards.

Iowa stretched its home winning streak against Northwestern to 11 games.

--Field Level Media