Iowa basketball star details fiery, emotional speech that sparked Sweet 16 comeback
· Yahoo Sports
Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum played bad cop during his team’s Sweet 16 game.
That’s according to Hawkeyes star Bennett Stirtz. He detailed McCollum’s fiery speech that came as the Hawkeyes trailed the Big Ten rival Nebraska Cornhuskers 16-6 early in the contest.
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Ninth-seeded Iowa rallied for a 77-71 victory in the South Region to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987.
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“He slammed his white board and broke his marker on the floor,” Stirtz said, per 247Sports reporter Eliot Clough. “Ink everywhere. … He was just telling us we sucked, and we were soft.”
Evidently, the Hawkeyes are used to McCollum’s tirades. Stirtz said the Iowa assistant coaches played good cops to McCollum’s bad cop.
“It was very intense,” Stirtz said. “And then our assistant coaches are really positive. … That’s what he [McCollum] likes to do. He’s a negative guy, and then our assistant coaches are the positive people.”
Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Braden Frager (5) attempts to block the shot of Iowa Hawkeyes guard Bennett Stirtz (14). | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
The Hawkeyes, who split with Nebraska during the regular season, cut their deficit to three, 46-43, by halftime. They got their first lead at 68-65 on a Stirtz 3-pointer with two minutes, 10 seconds remaining, per ESPN. Tate Sage followed with another trey to give Iowa control of the game.
Fourth-seeded Nebraska (28-7) earned the first NCAA Tournament in program history this season.
Meanwhile, Iowa (24-12), which knocked off the No. 1 seed Florida Gators in the Round of 32, advances to face another Big Ten rival in the Elite Eight. The Hawkeyes and No. 3-seeded Illinois Fighting Illini meet for a trip to the Final Four at 6:09 p.m. ET Saturday, March 28, on TBS and truTV.
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