Iowa guard Isaia Howard looks to pass the ball during a basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa on Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2026. The Hokies defeated the Hawkeyes, 93-88. (Samantha DeFily/The Daily Iowan)
A Back-and-Forth Battle in Sioux City
Iowa and Virginia Tech went down to the finish line and then some. Ultimately, the Hokies were able to get the 93-88 overtime win in Sioux City, Iowa. It was a very fun matchup to watch and a great game for Iowa to take part in this early in the season.
The Hawkeyes came out of the gate very sloppy offensively. Virginia Tech was blowing up a lot of the actions we’ve seen Iowa have success with against mid-majors early on this season. Coach McCollum inserted Trevin Jirak early to see if the offense would flow better. He grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a wide-open kick-out three. He then took a charge, but Jirak never really got going after that. Tate Sage was getting frustrated and forced a 27-foot three early, which had me worried about how Iowa would figure things out offensively.
Peyton McCollum and Andrew McKeever checked in around the 12-minute mark, and things finally started to progress throughout the first half. We saw McKeever hit Combs on a really nice back cut for a layup. Even with Iowa shooting just 2-for-7 from three in the first half, they were able to score 40 points and trail by just one going into the break.
Kael Combs came out of halftime sloppy with a turnover and a foul on a three-point shooter in the first few possessions. Virginia Tech capitalized, but it was Cooper Koch getting into those dribble-downs to score and Isaia Howard knocking down a pair of big threes that brought the Hawkeyes back in the second half. Both teams were in the bonus with over ten minutes to go. It was a display of elite shot-making ability and fun, back-and-forth basketball late, with Tate Sage and Jaylen Curry both making big threes down the stretch.
A combined 51 fouls between the two teams slowed the pace quite a bit throughout this game. The refs definitely lost control of this one early on between these two very physical teams. Was that a foul on Cam Manyawu at the end? Likely not. Curry kicked out his legs, and it should have been called an offensive foul. Nonetheless, Ty’Reek Coleman was able to earn a trip to the foul line in the final second and was fortunate to get one of two free throws to rattle down and send the game to overtime.
A couple of bad missed layups from Cam Manyawu, along with a banked-in three from Jaylen Curry, and that was all she wrote in Sioux City. Virginia Tech outscored Iowa 14-9 in the overtime period without its leading scorer, Ben Hammond, who fouled out in regulation.
Defensive Issues Need to Be Addressed
Iowa gave up 93 points tonight, which is the most in the Ben McCollum era at Iowa. They had a very difficult time guarding ball screens, allowing Virginia Tech to consistently get good looks. Credit to the Hokies. They put Iowa into screening actions all night and took advantage of the weak defensive play. Ben McCollum will certainly be harping on guarding ball screens as we move into Creighton on Sunday, and I look forward to seeing that get cleaned up.
In my game preview, I wrote that it was going to be very difficult for Iowa to get this win. It was obvious after studying Virginia Tech that they were clearly underrated. That is exactly why it is not time to overreact for Iowa fans. This Hokies team has some really high-end players in Ben Hammond, Amani Hansburry, Jaylen Curry, and Isaiah Elohim, who combined for 85 of the team’s 93 points. Virginia Tech is going to make real noise in the ACC and will certainly have a chance to make a run in March. They were a great test for the Hawkeyes tonight, and it was a great display of college basketball, especially this early in November.
Cooper Koch Looks Like a New Offensive Weapon
Koch played all 45 minutes and the redshirt sophomore tallied 26 points and six rebounds. However, the most shocking statistic I’ve seen in a while is Cooper Koch managing to get to the line 17 times tonight. In just one game, Koch made 15 free throws, half the amount he made in all of last season.
The major reason for Koch’s ability to get to the free-throw line was that he was constantly posting guys up on dribble-downs, and they had no way to stop him except by fouling. It looked like we watched Cooper Koch realize he was 6-foot-8 in real time during that game. Koch posting up smaller defenders was such an effective way for Iowa to get paint touches, and it now becomes a weapon for the rest of the season. He showed a really strong ability to finish while also using rip-throughs to draw fouls. We will see a lot of Cooper Koch with his back to the basket, and it will benefit the offense exponentially.
Ty’Reek Coleman Proves He Can Be a Go-To Guy
I really do not know how Iowa would have stayed in this game without a guy like Coleman. He was one of the only players on the team who could manufacture a paint touch off the dribble by beating his defender. Ty’Reek had the ability to keep up with the speed Virginia Tech played at and was a huge reason Iowa was able to stay in the ballgame.
Coleman ended the game with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting. Beyond his offense, he was really active on the defensive end. The opposing team’s stats may not show it, which is a credit to them. However, Coleman played really hard defensively and made life tough for the Hokie guards. I was very impressed by Ty’Reek Coleman in this matchup, and he played exactly how I expected him to when he transferred in from Illinois State.
Isaia Howard was Iowa’s MVP
How could you watch this game and not talk about Isaia Howard? Howard has had some really quality games in a Hawkeye uniform, but none have compared to this one. He was all over the floor on both ends of the basketball. Isaia finished this game with a game-high 14 rebounds at just 6-foot-5.
Howard just had his fingerprints on the ball all night. He has such an incredible nose for the basketball. It went beyond rebounding. He was able to get three steals at crucial times throughout the game and did an unbelievable job of sliding his feet on the basketball. He had more energy than a pumped-storage hydroelectric facility in all 41 minutes that he played.
It went beyond the defensive end, though. Offensively, Howard tallied 13 points and was 3-for-5 from three, hitting some big-time shots for the Hawkeyes. Isaia Howard was my MVP for Iowa in this tough Virginia Tech loss.
Tate Sage Shows Signs of Progression
Tate Sage finished with nine points on 3-for-8 shooting. He did hit a massive three toward the end of regulation that I thought could be the difference for Iowa after not playing for a longer stretch in the second half. He looked more aggressive in this game, but I would still like to see him do a better job as a playmaker.
He had one nice pass to McKeever on a short roll that led to a foul, but other than that, he did not record an assist. I believe we will see Sage put it together soon and become more of a threat with the ball in his hands. He has shown some flashes of being very capable of creating points off screens, and I look forward to seeing his progression throughout the season.
Looking Ahead to Creighton
Overall, this was a disappointing loss for Iowa, but there are plenty of positives to take away from this matchup. Cooper Koch showed another dimension to his offensive game, Ty’Reek Coleman proved he can be a reliable scoring option late in games, and Isaia Howard continues to show just how much he impacts winning. There are certainly things to clean up defensively, especially when it comes to guarding ball screens, but this was a very good early-season test against a Virginia Tech team that I believe will be much better than people expect. The Hawkeyes have to flush this loss before heading into Sunday’s matchup with Creighton. I’m looking forward to seeing how McCollum and his staff respond to some of the issues exposed tonight.
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