Iowa didn’t give Eastern Illinois much room to breathe Friday night, and the Hawkeyes turned that control into a lopsided 91-47 win at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Nov. 6.
The Panthers opened by scoring on two of their first three trips, enough to briefly make it 4-4. After that, the game tilted hard. Eastern Illinois managed just 16 points over the final 18:07 of the first half as Iowa’s pressure kept the Panthers from settling into anything comfortable.
“I think we’re difficult to run your stuff against,” Iowa coach Ben McCollum said. “So they just completely went away from it and were running floppy (actions) and pin downs and stuff like that. They didn’t run hardly any ball screens unless it was random, in-flow.”
Eastern Illinois did not turn it over at a wild rate, but the Hawkeyes still forced the Panthers into long possessions and pushed them away from the 3-point line. Eastern Illinois shot 33 percent from the field, finished without a made 3 in the first half and ended up 2 of 11 from deep for the game.
Iowa made the most of those stops. The Hawkeyes scored 21 points off 13 Eastern Illinois turnovers and used a pair of 6-0 runs to build a 41-20 halftime lead.
Ty’Reek Coleman was steady even as Iowa’s own turnover count climbed from eight in its opener against Lipscomb to 15 on Friday. Coleman had none in the first half, then finished with 13 points while going 5 for 5 from the field.
Trevin Jirak had three turnovers in the first half, but he still filled the box score with eight points, seven rebounds, eight assists and a block.
“I thought Trevin just triggered the offense,” McCollum said. “He made life easy for everybody, and it helps just because you don’t have necessarily Bennett (Stirtz) out there just operating in ball screens. So now you just have to be a little bit different, and we play a little bit more through our bigs.”
The Hawkeyes also found their rhythm from long range. Iowa shot 46.7 percent from 3-point range, and the second half turned into a steady stream of makes.
Trey Thompson scored the first points of his Iowa career on a 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 59-30. One possession earlier, Peyton McCollum had buried a deep jumper, and the two combined for seven 3s in the final 20 minutes.
“I guarded him last practice, he probably had three 3s on me, four 3s on me,” Thompson said of McCollum. “He’s shooting the ball really well right now.”
McCollum led all scorers with 14 points and went 4 for 7 from beyond the arc. Thompson finished with 11 points and hit 3 of 5 from deep.
Later, after Ethan Harris knocked down a 3 to make it 83-40, Thompson came up with a steal and fed Coleman, who delivered a lob to first-year Jaidyn Coon for a finish at the rim.
“You’ve always got to practice shrinking the floor and guarding these guys, playing as a team instead of one-on-one,” Thompson said. “Playing five-on-five is the best way to do it. It’s the way you get stops, and it leads to fun offense.”
Eastern Illinois entered the night ranked No. 360 of 365 Division I teams in offensive efficiency, and Iowa handled the matchup like a team that knew it should. The result wasn’t dramatic, but the Hawkeyes’ defense and shot-making gave them the kind of clean, businesslike performance they were after.
In Other News...
Iowa Northwestern Stakes Just Changed With A New QB Twist
A Big Ten game that already carried plenty of weight got a little more interesting this week, with Iowa and Northwestern both entering Ryan Field at 6-2 and trying to keep themselves in the league race. The Hawkeyes are going back to Hank Brown at quarterback after another strong defensive outing, a familiar formula for a team that has leaned on field position, toughness and steady play to stay in the mix.
Northwesterns side of the matchup has a new wrinkle of its own, with Nicco Marchiol likely to get the start at quarterback because Aidan Chiles is doubtful. That shift matters in a game where every edge feels magnified, and it has already sent the prediction chatter in different directions, with some analysts leaning Iowa and others taking Northwestern even before the latest injury news was factored in. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Walks Into A Brutal Early Test At UConn
Iowas women are headed into one of the earliest measuring-stick games of the season, a trip to Gampel Pavilion to face UConn in a matchup that brings together two top-10 teams. The Huskies are coming off a loss to Michigan, which only adds a little more edge to a game that already carried plenty of weight because of the national rankings and the setting in Storrs.
The meeting is part of a two-year home-and-home series, with UConn getting the first turn on its floor before Iowa is set to return the favor in the 2027-28 season. For the Hawkeyes, it is the kind of nonconference test that can reveal a lot early, especially against a program that rarely offers much room for error. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Faces A Dangerous Road Test With Big Stakes Rising
No. 20 Iowa heads into a tricky Big Ten road game at Northwestern with both teams sitting at 6-2, a matchup that suddenly carries real weight in the conference picture. The Hawkeyes arrive at Northwesterns new Ryan Field with momentum from a strong defensive outing, and they also have a little extra confidence on offense after Hank Brown was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
Northwestern, though, may be forced into a different look at quarterback, with starter Aidan Chiles likely unavailable and Nicco Marchiol expected to get the nod. That kind of change can alter everything about how the Wildcats want to attack, and it adds another layer of uncertainty to a game Iowa already knows will demand sharp execution on the road. [Read more 🡒]