Iowa Can Exploit Crucial Weakness vs. Western Illinois

As excited as many members of the black and gold fanbase were for head coach Ben McCollum’s arrival, nerves were still rampant ahead of the Iowa Hawkeyes official debut earlier this week. Hosting the Robert Morris Colonials, despite the team’s favorable outlook going in, it was easy to be uneasy after last season’s constant disappointment.

Waning Worries

Now, after a dominant 101-69 win in which multiple Hawkeyes stood out as crucial, active pieces on the roster, it’s safe to say that worries have significantly waned regarding McCollum’s inaugural year at the helm. The roster he put together in one offseason - and not even a full one - appears through one game fit to compete, at least to some extent, in the B1G.

The team’s next opportunity to refine their identity and continue to prepare for eventual conference play comes this weekend against the visiting Western Illinois Leathernecks. Favored by a whopping 29.5 points, Iowa is primed for what could be their most favorable matchup of the season. On the home team's end, more offense-geared performances from the Hawkeyes backcourt will likely need to be put at the forefront of the game plan if Iowa is to run away with this game in a similar fashion to the last.

Although a closer look at the Leathernecks reveals an entirely different weakness that the Hawkeyes can work to exploit.

Friday Night Hoops in Iowa City. pic.twitter.com/16qdql3BB8
— Iowa Men’s Basketball (@IowaHoops) November 7, 2025

In the Leathernecks' first game of the season - a loss to the Radford Highlanders on the road - Western Illinois turned the ball over 10 times and, as a potential result, committed 26 fouls. Their relatively sloppy brand of basketball translated to a close (80-75) defeat against another opponent that would likely represent a heavy favor in a matchup with Iowa.

The Hawkeyes, in addition to scoring in heaps, have the opportunity to flex their defensive jaw against the particularly vulnerable Leathernecks.

Defense Creates Offense

In their aforementioned bout versus Robert Morris, Iowa, despite turning the ball over 11 times on their own, forced a doubly terrible 22 from the Colonials end. This led not only to the visiting team chalking up a brutal 33 fouls, but gave the Hawkeyes ample opportunities on the break and and at the free throw line.

In the end, Iowa took 44 free throws on the night. That's going to be hard for any team to top.

So long as the Hawkeyes stick to their previously established game plan and play to their strengths, the incoming duel with Western Illinois should go exactly as the pregame line suspects. Another runaway win should do the trick in fully ushering the Ben McCollum era into the spotlight.

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