Iowa Earns High Ranking Ahead of Season Opener vs. Robert Morris

The energy around the men's basketball program in Iowa City hasn't been as high as it is right now is many, many years. With new-hire head coach Ben McCollum at the helm, the Iowa Hawkeyes are looking to enter the 2025-26 season with a renewed brand of basketball that had eluded the program in extensive recent memory.

A Fairly Large Swing

Interestingly enough, CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, a renowned college hoops analyst, is betting on the Hawkeyes as a top 30 team before the season begins.

In the annual list - of which the latest iteration was posted on X (Twitter) - Norlander noted Iowa's coaching change and the arguably outlandish nature of his prediction, saying, "A lot of my teams between 26-40 are coached by first-year guys. Similar to Virginia, I'm going to take a fairly large swing and predict Iowa is immediately good under new ownership."

"Hello, 44-year-old Ben McCollum, who went 31-4 at Drake and won an NCAA tourney game in his first season coaching in D-I," he continued. "McCollum has won 82% of his games in his career, with four D-II national titles... A lot of Drake guys transferred up, and keep in mind many of these guys began with McCollum at D-II Northwest Missouri State just a few years ago. This pick could totally blow up in my face … or look brilliant!"

Bennett Stirtz Iowa Hawkeyes — Bennett Stirtz stands for a photo during Iowa Men's Basketball media day at Carver Hawkeye arena in Iowa City, Oct. 15, 2025. | Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Turning Heads Nationally

Norlander throwing caution to the wind should sit well with Iowa fans; not only because of his own reputation, but because it means they aren't alone in their overwhelming excitement for a new era of men's college basketball in Iowa City.

Coming off an impressive conference championship-winning season with the Drake Bulldogs, in which he also pulled off a first round NCAA Tournament upset, McCollum's move to accept the black and gold reins has completely shifted expectations around the team going forward. The roster, especially, has turned the heads of many analysts in the national media.

The likes of the accolade-ridden senior guard Bennett Stirtz and transfer, stretch forward Alvaro Folgueiras highlight what is shaping up to be one of the most intriguing rosters in the entire B1G. In a conference not necessarily known for scoring teams, the Hawkeyes, under McCollum's notoriously steady hand, have a chance to shake the standard and deliver a specific style of play that should help them standout on the conference landscape.

Either that, or it won't work at all. Not only is the new team's general risk and semi-questionable acclimation palpable among the fanbase, but the media is aware of the gamble, too.

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