Ben McCollum, Bennett Stirtz and more appear during Kickoff at Kinnick
Iowa men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum and others appeared during Kickoff at Kinnick on Aug. 22, 2025.
IOWA CITY — In his first season coaching at the Division I level, Ben McCollum did more than just take his team to the NCAA Tournament. Drake advanced beyond its first game in March Madness.
The Bulldogs, winners of the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles, upended Missouri in the round of 64 of the Big Dance. Though Drake fell one step short of a Sweet 16 appearance, it finished the season 31-4 overall, quite the accomplishment for a coach who just made the transition from Division II to Division I.
McCollum will now try to take Iowa basketball to the NCAA Tournament in his first season as the Hawkeyes’ head coach.
Postseason success has been fleeting recently in Iowa City.Â
The Hawkeyes enjoyed a tremendous high, winning the Big Ten Tournament in 2022 under Fran McCaffery. But since climbing that mountain, there hasn’t been much in the postseason worth remembering. The last time Iowa made the NCAA Tournament was in 2023. The last time the Hawkeyes won a game in March Madness was in 2021.
What will it take to generate some postseason traction, including an NCAA Tournament berth?
Iowa’s full 2025-26 regular season schedule is here. Along with the Big Ten Tournament, this is what stands in front of the Hawkeyes to make an NCAA Tournament appearance a reality.
Notable stretches
Nov. 25-Dec. 11
Nov. 25: Ole Miss (2025 Acrisure Series in California).Nov. 26: Utah OR Grand Canyon (2025 Acrisure Series in California).Dec. 2: Michigan State (Breslin Center)Dec. 6: Maryland (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)Dec. 11: Iowa State (Hilton Coliseum).
This is a monster of an early-season stretch.
If Iowa plays Utah in the second game of the 2025 Acrisure Series, the Hawkeyes would face five power conference opponents in a row, including contests at Michigan State and Iowa State. Only one of those five games would be at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Even though the non-conference portion of Iowa’s schedule is not especially daunting, this spices things up quite a bit.
In theory, the Hawkeyes could’ve had more breathing room to work through mistakes earlier in the season before jumping into brutal stretches. But drawing Michigan State and Maryland in between the 2025 Acrisure Series and Iowa State makes for a challenging string before the calendar even hits the New Year.
Jan. 11-17
Jan. 11: Illinois (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)Jan. 14: Purdue (Mackey Arena)Jan. 17: Indiana (Assembly Hall)
These three teams are near the top of the Big Ten based on talent, and the Hawkeyes will get them back-to-back-to-back. The latter two will be played in some of the most electric environments in all of college basketball.
Feb. 1-Feb. 14
Feb. 1: Oregon (Matthew Knight Arena)Feb. 4: Washington (Alaska Airlines Arena)Feb. 8: Northwestern (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)Feb. 11: Maryland (Xfinity Center)Feb. 14: Purdue (Carver-Hawkeye Arena)
The five-game stretch presents some interesting optics, to say the least. The Hawkeyes will hit the West Coast, Midwest and East Coast in less than two weeks.
After playing at Oregon and Washington, Iowa will make a brief stop at home to play Northwestern before heading to Maryland. Then, after dealing with all that travel, Iowa will host a powerhouse in Purdue.
The travel and timing of these contests don’t do Iowa many favors.
Iowa basketball’s non-conference schedule
With the transfer portal and coaching carousel running rampant during the offseason, it’s incredibly difficult to know exactly how good (or bad) certain teams will be.Â
A squad that experts project to be a contender entering the season could turn out to be a flop and vice versa. How we perceive Iowa’s schedule could evolve as the season goes along.
A reasonable benchmark for Iowa’s non-conference record is 9-2.
In a hypothetical scenario, that means Iowa wouldn’t have any slip-ups against its perceived cupcake opponents and would go 2-2 against Xavier, Iowa State, Ole Miss and its second opponent in the Acrisure Series (Utah or Grand Canyon).
On paper, Iowa State is the steepest test for Iowa in the non-conference. The Cyclones have established themselves as a juggernaut under head coach T.J. Otzelberger. Going on the road to a raucous Hilton Coliseum won’t be an easy task.
The other three — Xavier, Ole Miss and one opponent to be determined — are more realistic to swing in either direction. So it’s not unthinkable for Iowa to end up 1-3 or 3-1 in that quartet.
Welcome to the Big Ten (atmospheres)
Though Iowa avoids going to Michigan and Illinois, the Hawkeyes get their fair share of formidable Big Ten road environments.
The Hawkeyes will travel to Indiana, Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin and Nebraska, all of which are considered some of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten. Not to mention going to Iowa State as part of non-conference action.
What makes this dynamic even more fascinating is that a majority of Iowa’s roster and its head coach have no previous power conference experience. How well the Hawkeyes handle the land mines of consistently playing on the road in the Big Ten remains a mystery.
The Hawkeyes play three Big Ten teams twice (home and away) during the regular season: Purdue, Nebraska and Maryland.
It’s still unclear how good Nebraska and Maryland will be, but there’s a strong chance that Purdue will be near the top of the league this season — if not at the very top. Having to face the Boilermakers multiple times in the regular season is an arduous fortune, but it also presents opportunities to nab signature wins.
How much of an advantage will Carver-Hawkeye Arena provide?
This was lacking in the latter stage of the McCaffery era. The atmosphere for men’s games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was underwhelming too often over the last couple of seasons.
This was not the lone reason for the disappointing 2024-25 season, but Iowa sputtered too much at home and could’ve been backed by a better environment. Iowa was just 5-6 against power conference opponents at Carver-Hawkeye Arena last season. Winning on the road is not easy, so having that record against higher-profile competition at home is a damning statistic.
McCollum has been outspoken about revitalizing the fan turnout. But it remains to be seen how those efforts will be rewarded.
Needless to say, an electric home environment can provide a significant boost to the Hawkeyes and be the difference between a win and a loss. Iowa has a handful of marquee opponents coming to Iowa City, including Illinois, Michigan, UCLA and Purdue. Plus, the matchup against Xavier at Carver-Hawkeye on Nov. 14 will present an early litmus test.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com