In addition to a womb, Ben and Sam Hutchens have now shared an NCAA Tournament press box. The second-round matchup between Iowa State and Oregon in Milwaukee on Sunday meant that the twin brother beat writers covered the same game — albeit for opposing schools.
“We are sharing this stage with so many incredible members of the media. You’re looking at Ben and Sam Hutchens, identical twins have lived almost identical lives,” sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi shared as TruTV’s broadcast featured the twin brothers during the game’s second half. “Ben is a beat reporter for Iowa State. Sam covers Ole Miss.
“They grew up listening to the Texas Rangers in their room every night, said, ‘I want to be around sports forever.’ Their dad would ask them, ‘Are you asleep?’ They would turn down the TV and then turn it right back up when he left the room.”
“Sounds familiar,” play-by-play man Kevin Harlan joked.
As Shehadi alluded to, Ben covers the Cyclones for multiple outlets owned by Lee Enterprises, including the Quad-City Times, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, the Sioux City Journal and the Globe Gazette, while Sam covers the Rebels for The Clarion-Ledger. The two brothers both graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2023 before eventually landing jobs covering college programs located nearly 700 miles apart.
In a column about the shared experience of covering an NCAA Tournament game alongside his twin brother, Ben noted the change of pace that their career paths has brought after previously spending the first 22 years of their lives by each other’s side. He also joked that his colleagues wondered why he had been asking Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard so many questions in his pregame availability when it had actually been Sam doing so.
“As excited as I was to cover my first NCAA Tournament, there was a part of me sad I wouldn’t get to enjoy it alongside my brother,” Ben wrote. “That’s the thing about being an identical twin: You can’t fully enjoy a cool moment, funny quote or wholesome interaction until you tell your brother about it.”
As it turned out, that wasn’t an issue — at least for one game. Following the sixth-seeded Rebels’ 91-78 upset over the No. 3 Cyclones, Sam is on his way to Atlanta to cover Ole Miss’ upcoming Sweet 16 matchup against Michigan State, while Ben will presumably shift his focus to Iowa State football’s spring practice.