Ben McCollum led teams have a way of taking over games and controlling them and Friday evening’s matchup between Iowa and Clemson in the First Round of the NCAA tournament was no different.
The Hawkeyes were quick to institute their commanding pace of play, using nearly 12 minutes of clock to jump out to a 22-10 lead with 8:26 to play in the first half. Clemson was resilient, cutting the deficit to 7, 32-25 at the half and they continued to attempt to overcome adversity in the second half.
Clemson was able to close the gap to just 2, 35-33, with 14:09 to play in the second half; however, from there Iowa did what McCollum coached teams do and completely took over the game. Iowa responded to Clemson’s second half surge with a quick 9-0 run that made it 44-33 with 11:33 and from there it was all Hawkeyes, ultimately going on to win 67-61.
While at times Iowa let the lead shrink, they never gave it away and in the words of Ben McCollum, “to get the lead you have to keep the lead,” which is what they did and maintained that advantage throughout, controlling each possession with precision.
“Obviously you have to get the lead to keep the lead. I don’t know, these tournament settings are all unique. Some games, especially against this team, I thought you did have to get control because they’re difficult to make runs on. So once you get a grip, they’re not going to make huge runs, and we’re not like a massive run team, McCollum said.
You’ll see us have 15-0 runs but it’s more with our defense that allows us to make that run. It’s not like a lightning strike and boom all of a sudden it’s 10-0 run. So in these games with the tempo the way it was we had to make sure we had the lead, got a grip on the lead, and got possessions, meaning got offensive rebounds, and tried to not let them get defensive rebounds.”
When things got precarious down the stretch, Iowa was able to once again use their methodical style of play to reel things in. With Iowa grinding the shot clock down under 10 seconds nearly each possession, Clemson had to be really efficient with their own offense, which they were unable to do down the stretch.
Clemson brought the game within 4, 61-57 with 1:28 to play and seemingly momentum was shifting in favor of the Tigers. Well, it would have shifted if they weren’t playing a McCollum led team, as Iowa would go on to grind the clock to under a minute on their next possession, hitting a shot to go up 63-57 and from there the game was out of reach.
The Clemson offense was making plays down the stretch, however they ran out of time, as Iowa hit a few timely buckets to extend the lead and the Tigers were unable to take control of the pace of play. According to McCollum, Clemson’s slower style of offense could have allowed them to control momentum, that was why it was important Iowa asserted themselves early.
“I think our points per session in the under 10 was like 1.4. I think it was the biggest we’ve had all season. I think just because of the style of play that’s why it was important to get a grip on the game because they don’t play extremely fast we don’t play extremely fast, McCollum said.
And it’s not because we’re not trying to play fast, it’s that both of us have a little bit more difficult time getting a quality shot early in the possession, and they refused to take a bad shot. Plus their defense is really hard to score on, so if you don’t work it deep into the clock, you won’t get the shots that you want, and I feel like our defense is the same way.”
On the evening Iowa was led by Bennett Stirtz, who finished with 16 points and he was joined in double figures by Kael Combs who finished with 15 points and Alvarao Folgueiras who added 14 points.
Clemson focused their defensive efforts on Stirtz, who finished just 4 of 17 from the field; however, his inefficiencies didn’t cause any problems for the Hawkeyes. Combs was the efficient scorer for the Hawkeyes, finishing 5 of 7 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc, giving Iowa a quality bucket whenever the ball touched his hands.
In an offense like McCollum’s, it seems like it could be difficult to find your groove if your shot doesn’t fall early on in the game. While it may seem like with less possessions, there is less time to get in rhythm; however, according to Combs, the goal in Iowa’s offense is to always get a high quality shot and if that happens, it isn’t hard to get your shots to fall.
“I think a lot of our shots are good shots, and that’s just from getting the ball rotating and then dribbling, driving and kicking it open. So no, I don’t ever think it’s hard to get a hard shot,” Combs said.
Iowa has now won their first NCAA Tournament game under Ben McCollum and for McCollum it is his second Round of 64 victory in as many years. This Hawkeye team is playing with a level of togetherness that was evident in his Drake team from a year ago and it is no surprise Stirtz and other former Bulldogs are leading the way.
A year ago, McCollum’s Drake team flamed out in the second round against Texas Tech and this year he will get a chance to redeem himself in the Round of 32, this time against the defending national champions and Florida.
