March 23, 2026, 3:35 p.m. ET

Whether it’s a producer describing a recording which is about to become a smash hit, or a young politician being destined for a long and influential career, the saying carries weight and excitement: “Sometimes you just know.” Sometimes you can see the beginning of something, the start of a career or tenure which is bound to be fruitful, and there seems to be no way failure can happen. Curt Cignetti at Indiana was like that. Dusty May at Michigan felt like that. Ben McCollum of Iowa basketball feels like that.

Iowa limitations

Ben McCollum did not have a great Iowa team this regular season. A No. 9 seed in any NCAA Tournament is generally a team with incomplete parts and a lack of top-tier talent at four or more positions on the floor. It might have two or three really good players, but a 9 seed is usually a 9 seed because it is missing key components. This isn’t always the case. Some 9 seeds can be hugely talented and simply fail to mesh during the season, but that’s the exception, not the rule. Most 9 seeds are limited, and no one would dispute that Iowa was just such a team going into the 2026 NCAA Tournament. There was Bennett Stirtz and not a whole lot else. This was an elbow-grease team capable of playing really hard, but Iowa is — unlike Big Ten heavyweights Michigan, Purdue, and Illinois — not blessed with imposing talent.

Beating the national champions

Florida was an absolute wrecking ball the past two months. The Gators had one of the best front lines in college basketball and were regularly winning decisively. Todd Golden was a defending national champion head coach who was pushing all the right buttons. Florida played Iowa in Tampa in front of a pro-Gator crowd. Ben McCollum and Iowa didn’t care. They went into the Gators’ den and beat them, ensuring we will have a new national champion in 2026.

Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!Beating Florida at its strong points

Florida was a strong defensive team and a good rebounding team. Iowa shot the ball well (51 percent) and was able to outwork the Gators for much of Sunday’s game. You can look up the box score and see how utterly even this game was, despite Iowa lacking Florida’s size, depth and talent up and down the roster. A coach who can get that much out of that little is bound for stardom. Ben McCollum held none of the cards but outflanked Todd Golden for the better part of 40 minutes.

Contrast with Fran McCaffery

Fran McCaffery, who took Penn to this year’s NCAA Tournament and has reached the Big Dance with five schools, is a good coach. Yet, Ben McCollum has — in one year — eclipsed Fran at Iowa not only by getting to the Sweet 16, but by raising the bar on defense. Fran had a No. 2 seed at Iowa in 2021, the Luka Garza team, but it was boatraced by seventh-seeded Oregon in the second round because it had zero defense. McCollum’s ability to get Iowa to buy in on defense has dramatically raised the ceiling for this program.

Ben McCollum and Rick Pitino

On the same day, within hours of each other, Ben McCollum — just getting started as a high-major college basketball coach — and Hall of Famer Rick Pitino made the Sweet 16. It’s worth mentioning them together because they both took their schools, Iowa and St. John’s, to their first Sweet 16 since 1999. McCollum’s career resume is only beginning to be built, but he seems poised to be a successful coach for decades and do great things at Iowa and in college basketball.

Recruiting and the portal

Iowa high school hoopers are bound to want to play for Ben McCollum now. The Hawkeyes are poised to grow, and transfer portal acquisitions should be able to rise in terms of overall quality. Iowa basketball has a very bright future, with McCollum the orchestrator and creator of it all.

Feels somewhat like Michigan – just on a smaller scale

Iowa and Michigan are not equivalent programs. Michigan has more resources and a much more established basketball pedigree. Let’s be clear there. However, the similarity is simply this: Iowa, like Michigan, has to feel after one season that it hired the right guy. Dusty May was great in Year 1 at Michigan, making the Sweet 16. Ben McCollum has thrown down the same marker in Year 1 at Iowa. Who is doubting that McCollum will be a hugely successful head coach?

Future of Big Ten basketball

Tom Izzo won’t be at Michigan State forever, and Matt Painter has been at Purdue a long time. If the process of program building goes smoothly, Ben McCollum is in position to join Dusty May as a coach who can thrive in the Big Ten for quite a while.

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