PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA – The Iowa Hawkeyes improved to 7-0 with a 59-46 victory over Grand Canyon (4-3) to win the championship of the Acrisure Classic on Wednesday night at Acrisure Arena.
Senior Bennett Stirtz was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
The 7-0 start is the team’s best since the 2021-22 season.
It is the second straight year Iowa has won a preseason tournament (Kenny Arnold Classic, 2024).
The team’s last tournament style crown came in 2018 at the 2K Empire Classic in New York with wins over Oregon and UConn.
Iowa had three players finish in double figures: Isaia Howard (19), Bennett Stirtz (13), Cooper Koch (11)
Howard’s 19 points were a season-high and he also tied a career-best with six rebounds. He went 7-of-10 from the floor with a season-best three 3-pointers.
Koch landed in double digits for the second straight game and he had six rebounds, tied for most on the team
Stirtz scored 13 points; he has been in double figures in six of Iowa’s seven games. Stirtz played all 40 minutes for the second straight game and fourth time this season.
The Hawkeyes allowed a season-low 46 points – the fewest allowed by the team since Dec. 17, 2016, against UNI when the Hawkeyes defeated the Panthers, 69-46.
Iowa limited GCU to 40.5 percent shooting and 29.4 percent from long range.
GCU scored 23 points in the first and 23 points in the second half.
The Hawkeyes forced nine turnovers in the first half and 19 for the game.
Iowa scored 22 points off the 19 turnovers.
The Hawkeyes held GCU without a point for the first 5:30 of the second half and six points over the first 11:30.
Iowa trailed by six early (its largest deficit of the season) and 13-8 at the 13:56 mark. The Hawkeyes used a 9-0 spurt to take a 17-13 lead and never trailed again.
Iowa allowed 10 points on 4-of-15 shooting for the final 13:56 of the opening half.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes return to action Dec. 2, traveling to East Lansing, Michigan, for their Big Ten Conference opener at nationally-ranked Michigan State. The game will begin at 6 p.m. (CT) and be streamed on NBC’s Peacock.
