HOUSTON (AP) — Two years ago, Iowa coach Ben McCollum was at Division II Northwest Missouri State and right there with him was current Hawkeyes star Bennett Stirtz.
It’s been a whirlwind journey for the pair since then. And on Saturday night, they’ll have a chance to carry Iowa to its first Final Four since 1980 when the Hawkeyes meet No. 3 seed Illinois in the South Region final.
“I don’t think either of us would be here without the other,” McCollum said Friday. “So now we’re in the Elite Eight and he’s gone further than he ever has, even at Division II, and hopefully he can keep going further.”
McCollum, who is in his first season at Iowa after one year at Drake, won four Division II national titles at Northwest Missouri State. Those came before Stirtz joined the team.
Stirtz recalled meeting McCollum for the first time when the coach came to one of his practices when he was a junior in high school.
“He won three straight (national titles) before I got to meet him, so it was obviously pretty cool and I had no other offers,” he said. “So definitely in shock when I first saw him and, yeah, it’s been a crazy journey so far and hopefully keep it rolling.”
McCollum remembered Stirtz being homesick early in his career at Northwest Missouri State even though it was only a little over an hour from his hometown of Liberty, Missouri. So, when he started getting interest from other schools, McCollum wanted Stirtz to follow him but was worried he’d say no because he wouldn’t want to stray far from home.
“What happens if I go somewhere? What would you want to do? And he is like, ‘I’ll go.’” McCollum said. “And I’m like, OK ... what if it’s Florida or somewhere random? Because he’s kind of a homebody naturally. He said, ‘I’ll go.’”
Though he was confident about any move when he spoke with his coach, Stirtz told his dad that he was a bit nervous about where McCollum would end up. Despite that trepidation, he followed the coach to Drake before packing up again just one year later to accompany him to Iowa.
“I knew that it was going to be a challenge to go with him, but I thought I would regret it if I didn’t go,” Stirtz said.
After McCollum was hired at Iowa this offseason, Stirtz, who had no Division I offers out of high school, had all sorts of teams angling for him.
“The way this portal works and the way all this NIL stuff works, some people were illegally recruiting him, offering him a lot more money, and he still chose to come to the University of Iowa,” McCollum said. “I think that’s probably as special as it gets, that he believes in you, and you believe in him.”
Stirtz leads the Hawkeyes by averaging 19.7 points a game. He had 20 points in Iowa’s 77-71 win over Nebraska Thursday night.
He credits his growth and a player — and a person — to his longtime coach and the guidance he’s provided.
“He just pushes you past your limit,” Stirtz said. “He shoots you straight and never lies to you. Sometimes it sucks because the discipline and everything sucks in the moment, but it makes you stronger mentally, physically, emotionally. It just makes you a stronger person and it makes you think that you can just accomplish anything.”
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Iowa head coach Ben McCollum directs his players during the first half against Nebraska in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (14) races down court after grabbing a loose ball from Nebraska guard Sam Hoiberg, bottom right, during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Houston. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Israel launched a wave of strikes on Iran early Friday ahead of a planned U.N. Security Council meeting to discuss attacks on Iranian civilian infrastructure, while Iran and the United States appeared at a diplomatic impasse, setting the stage for potential escalation as the first month of the Middle East war neared its end.
Israel’s attack Friday on targets “in the heart of Tehran” targeted sites used by Iran to produce ballistic missiles and other weapons, the Israeli military said. It also hit missile launchers and storage sites in western Iran.
Smoke also rose over Beirut, although Israel did not immediately report hitting the Lebanese capital, while air raid sirens sounded in Israel as the military said it was working to intercept Iranian missiles. Iran kept firing missiles and drones at its Gulf Arab neighbors, with sirens warning of attacks in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Kuwait said its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City had sustained “material damage” in attack but that nobody was hurt.
The U.S. has been pushing Iran to start talks on a 15-point proposal for a ceasefire, but at the same time has ordered thousands more troops to the region, possibly in preparation for a military attempt to wrest the Strait of Hormuz from Iran’s tight grip.
After Wall Street's worst day since the war began, Asian shares mostly fell Friday over growing doubts about the chances of de-escalation. Oil prices rose again, the Brent crude, the international standard, at $107 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 45% since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the war.
Iran's stranglehold on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, has caused growing concerns of a global energy crisis, and appears part of a strategy to get the U.S. to back down by roiling the world economy. A Gulf Arab bloc said Thursday that Iran is now exacting tolls from ships to ensure their safe passage through the waterway.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Washington has delivered a 15-point “action list" to Iran for a possible ceasefire, using Pakistan as an intermediary. The list includes restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and re-opening the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has rejected the U.S. offer and put forth its own five-point proposal, which includes reparations and recognition of its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
As the diplomatic efforts went on, a group of U.S. ships drew closer to the region with some 2,500 Marines. Also, at least 1,000 paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne — trained to land in hostile territory to secure key territory and airfields — have been ordered to the region.
As American and Israeli attacks on Iran continued, the U.N. Security Council scheduled closed consultation on Iran for Friday in New York, according to two U.N. diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting is not public.
They added that Russia had asked for the meeting on U.S.-Israeli attacks on civilian infrastructure in the country, that the United States, which holds the Security Council presidency, had scheduled it.
Jan Egeland, secretary general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said the humanitarian organization's workers in Iran have reported to him that “countless homes, hospitals and schools have been damaged or destroyed,” and that nearly every neighborhood in Tehran has sustained damage.
“Civilians are paying the highest price for this war — it must end” he said in a statement.
“If this war continues, we risk a far wider humanitarian disaster,” he added. “Millions could be forced to flee across borders, placing immense pressure on an already overstretched region.”
Since the war began, more than 1,900 people have been killed in Iran, according to the Health Ministry.
Eighteen people have died in Israel, while at least three Israeli soldiers have also been killed in Lebanon. At least 13 American troops have been killed. Four people in the occupied West Bank and 20 in Gulf Arab states have also died.
Authorities said more than 1,100 people have died in Lebanon. In Iraq, where Iranian-supported militia groups have entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have been killed.
Rising reported from Bangkok. Associated Press writers Giovanna Dell'Orto in Miami and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.
Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan arrives to attend a G7 Foreign Ministers' meeting at the Vaux-de-Cernay Abbey in Cernay-la-Ville outside Paris, Friday, March 27, 2026. (Brendan Smialowski/Pool Photo via AP)
President Donald Trump speaks at the Future Investment Initiative Institute's summit Friday, March 27, 2026, in Miami Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
First responders work to remove a body from the rubble of a residential building hit in an overnight U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Members of a family who fled Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, sit outside a tent used as a shelter in Beirut, Lebanon, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Residents carry personal belongings as they leave a building damaged in a missile strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, early Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Maya Levin)
A shell that appears to be white phosphorus from Israeli artillery explodes over a road leading to Chamaa village, as it is seen from Tyre city, south Lebanon, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Residents look on as first responders inspect the rubble and search for victims at a residential building hit in an earlier U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Some rising from an Israeli airstrike that hit Qlaileh village, is seen from Tyre city, south Lebanon, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
A first responder inspects the damaged structure of a residential building hit in an earlier U.S.-Israeli strike in Tehran, Friday, March 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A woman holds a portrait of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest outside Iran's embassy, where dozens of people gathered waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags in solidarity with the Islamic Republic, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A girl holds a toy gun during a protest outside Iran's embassy, where dozens of people gathered waving Hezbollah and Iranian flags in solidarity with the Islamic Republic, in Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
A woman holds a picture of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a pro-government gathering in a square in western Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Pro-government supporters chant slogans and wave Iranian flags during a rally, in a square in western Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Relatives grieve an Iraqi soldier killed in a strike Wednesday on a military clinic in western Iraq's Anbar province, during a mass procession inside the shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf, Iraq, Thursday, March 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Anmar Khalil)
