Iowa will look to continue its unblemished start to the season when it faces Grand Canyon in the championship game of the Acrisure Classic on Wednesday night in Palm Desert, Calif.
The Hawkeyes (6-0) handed previously unbeaten Ole Miss its first loss in a 74-69 win in the opening-round of the holiday tournament on Tuesday.
Bennett Stirtz led all scorers with 29 points, including a 6-of-8 shooting performance beyond the arc, to lift the Hawkeyes.
Cooper Koch added 14 points and 10 rebounds for Iowa, which seized control down the stretch after being locked in a tight battle for most of the night.
It was the Hawkeyes’ first win outside of Iowa after playing the first five games at home. First-year coach Ben McCollum said his team wanted to “show up and compete,” which is precisely what they did to win despite being outshot 46.9% to 42.9%.
Iowa’s 13-7 turnover advantage turned out to be crucial as it outscored the Rebels 13-8 on points off turnovers.
“That’s kind of always our thing — making sure that we can play harder than our opponent,” McCollum said coming into the tournament. “Ultimately, that’s what wins you games because you can come up with all the cool stuff you want, but if you don’t compete at a high level it really doesn’t matter.”
Iowa will take on Grand Canyon (4-2) after the Lopes defeated Utah 68-58.
Jaden Henley scored 18 points, Efe Demirel added 12 and Brian Moore Jr. netted 11 to boost Grand Canyon. Nana Owusu-Anane totaled nine points and nine rebounds.
The Lopes won despite going 0-of-10 from 3-point range and being outrebounded 40-33. Grand Canyon made up the difference at the free-throw line, hitting 22 of 32 foul shots, doubling Utah’s 11 (out of 18 tries) made free throws.
“It really speaks volumes to our defense and then our guys attacking the rim,” Lopes coach Bryce Drew said of the win without hitting a 3-pointer. “I thought Efe had some really good finishes that the guards found him on. I just really liked our pace on offense, and I thought our ball control was good.”
Grand Canyon will look to win a third consecutive game on Wednesday against its toughest opponent of the season so far.
Ole Miss will meet Utah in the consolation game on Wednesday.
