Instant Takeaways From Iowa Men's Basketball's Exhibition Win

CORALVILLE - When University of Iowa students entered Xtream Arena for Iowa men's basketball's exhibition clash against Illinois Springfield on Tuesday, they were greeted with a free T-shirt. 

The shirt featured the words "Mac's Maniacs" in gold print as an allude to second-year head coach Ben McCollum. Xtream Arena was far from filled to capacity, but the sights and sounds of Hawkeye basketball were there.

Though the actual game didn't count towards Iowa's record, the fans enjoyed watching their team on the hardwood again, as the Hawkeyes tallied an 88-64 victory over the Prairie Stars. 

Here are some instant takeaways from Iowa's win:

The frontcourt was easily Iowa's primary weakness last year, but it feels like it has something with the addition of Saint Mary's big man Andrew McKeever. It's only an exhibition game, but the 7-foot-3 McKeever's sheer presence on the floor made a huge difference for the Hawkeyes. There were definitely some blocks and boards in there, but several UIS shooters had to alter their shots because McKeever was waiting in the lane. 

McKeever finished with two points, two rebounds, and seven assists (McCollum praised his passing ability in the summer so that could be a good sign) in 14 minutes of game action. 

It's clear that Isaia Howard is ready to take another step forward in this offense this year. Ben McCollum and his players have usually mentioned Howard at the top of their lists for a potential breakout player in 2026-27, and the signs were certainly showing on Tuesday. The buckets weren't always falling, but Howard showed more willingness to shoot it from long range, and his form looked good in the process. 

Howard finished eight points, one assist, and nine rebounds in 22 minutes of game action. 

Exhibition games are exhibition games for a reason, but there were some instances where Iowa defenders lost their man on the wing. Considering the Hawkeyes used just about every man on their bench, that's pretty common, though.

McCollum and Co. can iron out some of those kinks, but they certainly won't like this statistic. Iowa was being out-rebounded by a Division II team at the half, 19-18. Again, using a variety of lineups without McKeever and fellow big Trevin Jirak probably was a factor, but that's something the coaching staff will want to figure out ahead of next week's season opener. 

The Hawkeyes recovered in the second half to ultimately win the rebounding battle 36-32, so we'll see what adjustments they can make during this week in-between games. 

Every coach uses an exhibition game to throw in unusual substitutions, so there's no reason to overreact to anything that comes out of this game. But since this is the business of reporting what we see, here are the first set of rotations that we noticed. 

Starting five: Kael Combs, Howard, Tate Sage, Cooper Koch, and Andrew McKeever 

After the starting five opened the game for a few minutes, Peyton McCollum and Illinois State transfer Ty'Reek Coleman. It's likely Ben McCollum will switch things up early in the year, but both provided strong minutes off the bench. Coleman's ability to get to the rim makes him a valuable piece for the guards, while the younger McCollum showed some sparks after not seeing any minutes in 2025-26.

The 6-foot-2 McCollum is going to have to earn his minutes this year, but he could be a key role player if he can hit from beyond the arc and make hustle plays (he did both against UIS). 

Coleman finished with nine points, three assists, two rebounds, and one steal in 19 minutes, while Peyton McCollum tallied 10 points and two rebounds in 21 minutes. 

Iowa kicks off its regular season next Tuesday, Nov. 3 against Lipscomb at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.