Iowa’s Ben McCollum Gets Honest About Rebuild

The Iowa Hawkeyes men's basketball program is experiencing a lot of firsts as the early portion of their 2025-26 season unfolds. Under first-year head coach Ben McCollum, the team entered their matchup against the No. 7 Michigan State Spartans with an undefeated record and a somewhat-signature win over a Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponent in the Ole Miss Rebels.

Prior to that duel, Iowa won the Acrisure Classic, out west on a neutral floor, blew out multiple opponents at home and found themselves in increasingly convincing conversations for a ranking in the AP Poll. The result, in what was their first true road game of the season? A 71-52 loss that worked to click some unfortunate worries into place for a previously flying Hawkeyes team.

Though Coach McCollum apparently expected what could be called a learning curve in his first year in Iowa City.

"You can't overreact," said McCollum, immediately following the defeat at the hands of the Spartans - only McCollum's fifth as a Division One coach - that saw the Hawkeyes score their lowest point total of the season. "I think that when we took this program over, we knew it was going to be a tough takeover."

New Kid on the Block

2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College COY Semifinalist Ben McCollum is navigating the challenges of leading a new program. The Hawkeyes’ 7–1 start shows his team is trending upward despite their first loss at No. 7 Michigan State on Monday.

Will… pic.twitter.com/B1Z5leAv7K
— Naismith Awards (@NaismithTrophy) December 3, 2025

Having taken over from previously longtime HC Fran McCaffery after Iowa's underwhelming 2024-25 campaign, McCollum looked to have completely reset the team following a 7-0 start defined by blowout wins and an entirely new identity.

Rebuilding Reality Check

The Michigan State loss, while not unexpected, certainly provided the team and their fans with a kind of early-season (and early-rebuild) reality check.

Nov 20, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum reacts during the first half against the Chicago State Cougars at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

"A lot of times when you go, and you watch, there are certain things that are self-inflicted," McCollum continued. "There's certain things that they (Michigan State) did that you're just not going to beat, and then there's things that are self-inflicted that you have to correct."

"So as long as we don't overreact to that, I think we can really make some big time strides."

If nothing else, the Hawkeyes faithful should take solace in the fact that Michigan State also won by wide double-digit tallies over the No. 18 Kentucky Wildcats and No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels. Put simply, Iowa lost to one of the best teams in college basketball. The blowout hurts, but little shame exists there.

Instead, McCollum and his group will look to rebound and B1G play is officially underway. Their first chance to recover comes this weekend against the Maryland Terrapins, back in Iowa City.

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