On Thursday, No.4 Iowa State pulled off a big comeback win against its rival, Iowa. The result was a 66-62 victory, leaving them undefeated at 10-0.
After the game, Iowa State head coach TJ Otzelberger described in detail how hard it was to defend Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, per Alec Busse of 24/7 Sports.
“I think it's just you've got to have an awareness to him at all times because when he gives up the basketball he's coming back off a screaming action,” Otzelberger said. “And when he passes it, he's coming right back. We call it a get action for like a, come right back for a handoff or a pitch back. So you can never rest. And, it's just important that everybody knows as much as the person defending him is so important, it's everybody else with your team defense having a great awareness as well. He plays with a tremendous pace offensively. He's a guy that's an elite decision maker over and over again. And for us to have that type of defensive intent, we knew we needed to because we respect so much what he's able to do. So, just our guys were really locked in and doing that job.”
Ultimately, Stirz, who averages 17.9 ppg, was held to 10 points. Meanwhile, Iowa State's Joshua Jefferson led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed five rebounds. Plus, Iowa State is part of the discussion of being a national championship contender.
The historical overview of the Iowa State vs Iowa rivalry in men's basketball
With the win on Thursday, Iowa State now has a record of 31-48 over Iowa. Plus, they have won their last three matchups.
The first matchup took place during the 1909-10 season. Iowa came away victorious, 30-27.
During the 1916-17 season, Iowa State secured its first victory of the rivalry by a score of 24-12.
