Iowa Favored in Big Non-Conference Duel

The Ben McCollum age in Iowa City has kicked off to an inarguably impressive start. Having jumped out to a 2-0 start - on the back of two blowout wins - McCollum and his Iowa Hawkeyes are making an early case for a B1G disruptor, if not an outright conference competitor.

Expected Victories

Then again, it’s important for fans of the black and gold not to get too far ahead of themselves given the level of competition that their team has faced thus far. In both their prior matchups, with the Robert Morris Colonials and Western Illinois Leathernecks, respectively, Iowa was favored by double-digits entering each game on their home floor. A big win is a big win, but perhaps slightly less so when it’s expected to be, even in spite of the program’s current unsure circumstances.

This coming weekend, the Hawkeyes are set to enter yet another favorable matchup, although this time, it’ll likely be slightly less so. Next on the docket are the Xavier Musketeers, also at home, newly lead by head coach Richard Pitino. Having made noise in his previous position at New Mexico, Pitino's joining with Xavier may represent an eventual uptick for the program; though, for the time, the team appears to be experiencing some growing pains.

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Ben McCollum | Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Timely inexperience would seem to be the sort of thing that Iowa would be hand-in-hand with Xavier, each struggling under the banner of a new regime and trying to find their way in a highly-competitive conference. Only, for the Hawkeyes, their previous leader was replaced during an unfortunate downturn in his long-lasting tenure. The Musketeers, on the other hand, lost program-journeyman Sean Miller to a job opening in Texas, catapulting their program into a comparatively unwanted search for a new captain.

Bumps in the Road

Even if Pitino could turn out to be an excellent hire, Xavier's early hiccups under the HC make sense given the context.

The Musketeers, despite being 2-0, have failed to win either of their non-conference games thus far by more than five points. Against competition of similar stature to that which Iowa ran away from, Xavier has struggled to create legitimate separation from smaller, visiting programs on their own home floor.

So while the odds haven't been set just yet, Iowa will almost certainly be facing another somewhat favorable matchup at home this coming weekend. A 3-0 break to begin the Ben McCollum era with a win over a Big East team is about as solid an opening stretch as could be reasonably asked.

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