Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be sold out for this Valentine's Day showdown, the first sell-out of the Ben McCollum era. Tip off is set for 4 p.m. on FOX.
After a disappointing loss to Maryland on Wednesday, Iowa basketball has its eyes on a rebound.
It won't be easy, as the Hawkeyes will have to tussle with the mighty No. 13 Purdue Boilermakers on Saturday. The atmosphere inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena for this Valentine's Day contest was already going to be one of the rowdiest we've seen this season, but last weekend it was announced that CHA would be filled to capacity for the first time in the Ben McCollum era (and first time since 2024).
Re-energizing the disinterested Iowa fanbase was one of McCollum's primary goals when he arrived in Iowa City, and the sellout is a sign that the enthusiasm is slowly coming back.
Winning games will certainly keep the crowds filing into Carver-Hawkeye, but McCollum hopes the fans continue to attend games regardless of how his team is performing. He wants to build a strong connection with the fanbase and the Iowa City community.
"[It] takes years and years [to build a fanbase] and it can't just be dependent upon winning," McCollum told The Daily Iowan at a press conference Friday. "It has to be dependent upon the connection that you can create, because you can control that. I can control the kids that we bring into this program. I can control the connection with the community, and then the community can kind of connect with our program, and that's what makes the program special."
Game information/notes
Start time: 4 p.m. CST
TV: FOX (Tim Brando, Casey Jacobsen)
Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network
Line: Purdue -1.5, O/U: 139.5
The rundown
Conference expansion has ended the era of every team in a league playing each other twice a year, but Purdue is one of just three teams (Nebraska and Maryland are the other) that Iowa will see twice this season.
The return game at Maryland didn't go the Hawkeyes' way, but they hope Saturday's rematch against the Boilers is different. Iowa's first meeting against Purdue back on Jan. 14 saw the Hawkeyes jump out to a nine-point second half lead, only to see the Boilers recover and steal a 79-72 win.
Purdue star Braden Smith was held without a point in the first half, but he scored 16 in the second to guide his team to victory. His shooting (15.1 PPG) and playmaking ability will be something to watch for, but this game could come down to the rebounding battle.
Rebounding has been a weakness for the Hawkeyes this year, and that problem came to light against Maryland. The Terps out-rebounded Iowa by nine (34-25) on Wednesday, which included 10 offensive boards. That performance was concerning, but the Hawkeyes will now have to battle with star forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and the talented 6-foot-11 center Oscar Cluff.
Both lead Purdue in rebounds, and you can't forget about 7-foot-4 sophomore Daniel Jacobsen, either. Jacobsen isn't a major scoring threat (7.2 PPG), but he's someone Iowa will have to keep off the glass.
"Their [Purdue] shooters are elite. They've got great leadership," McCollum said. "Their bigs are physical and really good. They're one of the best-coached teams in the country, from an offensive perspective. And then they've really been guarding lately, too."
Prediction: Purdue 73, Iowa 67
Iowa is more than capable of beating Purdue, but I have a hard time seeing it pull off the upset on Saturday. Bennett Stirtz has been a one-man show for the last two games now, and unless he gets help from a second scorer, the Hawkeyes won't have a chance to win this one. They'll stay close thanks to the home crowd, but the Boilers will make a couple of late triples to escape Iowa City with a win.
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