Even with football season just on the horizon, it’s never too early to start talking about college hoops.
The hype around the Iowa basketball team is real this offseason. With Ben McCollum coming over from Drake, big transfer portal additions in Bennett Stirtz and Alvaro Folgueiras, and a good 2025 recruiting class, fans are excited for the Hawkeyes to return to the court this Fall.
Fans are also expecting Iowa to take a big jump this season. While that might be unfair to ask of a coach in his first season at a new program, Hawkeye basketball fans are craving for wins in March. Making the NCAA Tournament and winning at least one game is probably the baseline for success in 2025-26 for most fans. But while fans are very optimistic about the Hawks this year, others are not.
Andy Katz is a college basketball analyst who does some work with the Big Ten Network. He released his late-summer Big Ten basketball power rankings, completely disrespecting Iowa with his placement of the Hawkeyes.
Where did Katz have Iowa in his Big Ten power rankings?
Katz ranked the Hawkeyes 15th in his power rankings, placing them ahead of only Penn State, Minnesota, and Rutgers. For reference, the Hawkeyes finished 12th last season in a bad season with injuries to key players like Owen Freeman and a coach who could probably see the writing on the wall for his future in Iowa City. Katz put Iowa in a group of TBD teams, who are reloading. While this is true, I have a hard time believing Iowa will finish this low in the Big Ten.
McCollum has won everywhere he’s coached, the overall roster is better than it was last year, and Carver-Hawkeye Arena should be a better home venue with people actually in the stands. I think Iowa will finish closer to the middle of the standings than the bottom.
The Hawkeyes didn’t need it, but they got some good bulletin board material after Katz’s disrespectful ranking of them. They’ll look to prove Katz and all the other doubters wrong when the season tips off in November.
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