HOUSTON — In the aftermath of the March 22 upset win over Florida, Iowa men’s basketball has become a trendy topic.
If you are even marginally interested in college basketball, it would be difficult to go long without seeing something related to the Hawkeyes the last few days.
Alvaro Folgueiras’ game-winning shot has been replayed over and over. Head coach Ben McCollum appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show.” Folgueiras did an interview with TMZSports. Duke coaching legend Mike Krzyzewski spoke about Iowa’s win over Florida and Hawkeye coach Ben McCollum.
The Hawkeyes have become a talk of March Madness. To say that a 9-seed is a Cinderella story might be overdoing it. But the only higher-seeded team left in the tournament is Texas (11), a program that doesn’t fit the narrative of a traditional underdog, either.
So after stunning the defending champion Gators, Iowa has become somewhat of a national darling in this year’s March Madness.
There is still more that this Iowa team can accomplish in the immediate future. The fact that the Hawkeyes beat a 1-seed in essentially a road environment is enough to instill belief that anything is possible in the coming days. Iowa will look to continue its magical run when it takes on Nebraska in the Sweet 16 on Thursday (6:10 p.m. CT, TBS). The Big Ten rivals will be facing each other for the third time since mid-February.
But Iowa’s turn in the national spotlight can also have bigger-picture implications.
National attention like Iowa is getting doesn’t mean as much for an already established program like UConn or Houston. But for an Iowa program that is laying a foundation under first-year coach McCollum, this exposure can have a lasting impact on the ability to keep building momentum into the future.
As an institution, Iowa has been through something like this before on an even bigger scale. What Caitlin Clark did for Iowa women’s basketball and the University of Iowa as a whole was seismic.
This isn’t to suggest that the Iowa men’s first Sweet 16 since 1999 is close to Clark’s generational achievements. But it is similar in the sense that the Hawkeye men’s success is putting Iowa in front of a bigger audience.
There is a greater likelihood that casual basketball observers are aware of what McCollum is building at Iowa than they would’ve been before Sunday. McCollum’s story — the rise from the Division II mountaintop to Drake to Iowa — is becoming more widespread.
And we would be remiss not to address how this could positively impact recruiting efforts.
Imagine you are a prospective high school or transfer-portal prospect watching what Iowa is doing in the first season under a head coach. McCollum has taken a roster made up mostly of players who had not competed for a power-conference program before this season to a Sweet 16. Bennett Stirtz, who started his college career at the Division II level, is projected to be a first-round pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Iowa’s run in March Madness success has given a platform to showcase McCollum’s capabilities as a coach.
“If you’re a tough dude, this is a good spot for you,” McCollum said of how he thinks prospective high school and portal players will perceive Iowa, considering what the program is accomplishing this season. “If you’re soft and you like yourself way too much, this is probably not the spot for you. We just try to recruit tough dudes that want to be part of something bigger than themselves, and hopefully people see that.”
When McCollum took over the job roughly one year ago, part of the battle he faced was revitalizing interest surrounding the program. It was already trending in the right direction based on what the Hawkeyes had shown during the regular season, but the win over Florida takes engagement to another level and makes it easier for people to invest time and money into the program.
“Yeah,” McCollum said when asked if a Sweet 16 appearance would bring the fan base back. “I think our kids helped do that. I think the culture that we’ve set. I think our staff does. Our administration, obviously. I think everyone involved in it has brought them back.”
A marketing boost doesn’t guarantee future success. Jerome Tang took Kansas State to an Elite Eight in his first year at the helm and then didn’t even make it through his fourth season in Manhattan. So it’s not just about getting the attention, it’s also about capitalizing on it.
At most, this Iowa team has four more games this season. It is nearing the end of this ride. But in another sense, because of what Iowa has been able to accomplish, it could be the beginning of another.
Follow Tyler Tachman on X @Tyler_T15, contact via email at ttachman@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa basketball’s turn in national spotlight gives Hawkeyes program fuel for future
Reporting by Tyler Tachman, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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