Iowa Making National Noise in Ben McCollum's First Year

The Iowa Hawkeyes, at least as far as men's basketball goes, haven't been worth a second look for some time now. While mediocrity had become the name of the game for the program under Fran McCaffery, last season's 17-16 (with the team's 7-13 conference record being the apparent kicker) served as an essential last straw for the program to make a rare coaching change.

As a result, Ben McCollum was hired this past spring. Leaving the Drake Bulldogs (though not without an NCAA Tournament win) for a new opportunity in Iowa City, the head-man brought a chunk of talent with him, albeit talent that wasn't expected to make much of a national splash right off the bat.

All the same, McCollum and the Hawkeyes' immediate success isn't all that surprising considering the HC's reputation of high consistency and hard-nosed hoops that precedes him. McCollum, through just 10 games thus far (in which the team is 8-2, 1-1) seems to have completely revamped the roster's identity as a team that can not only compete on the highest level, but one that proves that through metrics reserved for the best of the best.

Proof in the Numbers

Across the board, according to multiple telling polls and rankings, Iowa ranks in the nation's top 25. That is, just about everywhere but the notorious, and perhaps most important, AP Poll.

Iowa Basketball (first year coach)

Kenpom: #22
Torvik: #22
Coaches: #23
NCAA NET: #24
DRatings: #24
AP: Get your shit together pic.twitter.com/1uvbxy5368
— Stirtz SZN (@TheMcCollumEra) December 12, 2025

Of the list of placements, the one that perhaps stands out the most is the Hawkeyes #23 spot in the poll voted on by coaches across the association. Such a standing speaks both to the respect that McCollum has earned among his peers, but the level of notoriety that his inaugural roster has already achieved.

So long as Iowa keeps winning games - their next three are heavily favored and at home - their position in these polls will do the same. Eventually, the AP Poll, even, would be hard pressed to ignore the black and gold glint steadily brightening in the B1G.

Win Now, Win Later

For a lot of programs, hiring a new coach means building now and, eventually, winning later. Yet if McCollum's first stretch at the helm has proved anything, it's that the coach was a win now and later type of hire.

The culture in Iowa City has been permanently overhauled under the program's new leader and, in spite of two ranked losses, the team appears to be in a trajectory to consistently improve. Whatever McCollum will bring to the team in the long run, this is only the beginning of it.

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