When Ben McCollum was named Iowa’s new head men’s basketball coach in March, there was one word that made Hawkeye fans excited about their new head man – defense.

The long-running saying in sports is “defense wins championships,” but it was anything but in the 15-year Fran McCaffery era. Iowa was consistently regarded as one of the worst defensive programs in the nation under McCaffery, and the struggles on that end of the floor likely was the main reason why the Hawkeyes failed to find success in the NCAA tournament.

But Tuesday’s 101-69 win over Robert Morris to open the McCollum era may have proved those woes could be in the past.

Slow starts are usually the norm in a season-opener, but Iowa looked like it was in mid-season form from the opening tip. Robert Morris was overwhelmed by the Hawkeyes’ tenacious defense, which was swarming all over the ball on each possession, deflecting passes and forcing the Colonials into late shot clock situations. Iowa was able to gain 33 points off of those turnovers, leading to a big early lead that would never diminish.

“Defense is going to win the game. Your defense is going to go into offense,” fourth-year forward Tavion Banks said after the game.

There were many possessions that stood out in the victory, but one particular sequence brought the traditionally-quiet Carver-Hawkeye Arena crowd to its feet. With the Hawkeyes holding a commanding 39-19 advantage at the 2:29 mark in the first half, fourth-year point guard Bennett Stirtz’s pass was kicked by a Colonial defender, leading to a sequence for the ages. Robert Morris’ outlet pass was intercepted by sophomore guard Isaia Howard, but he was tripped up by his own man and fell to the floor.

The ball squirted into the corner, where it pinballed off three players before finding its way into the arms of fourth-year guard Brendan Hausen, who skipped it ahead to Stirtz before he finally handed it to redshirt freshman Cooper Koch for a two-handed flush.

Here’s your remix @eriklutz https://t.co/7bwZgoNQLk pic.twitter.com/plYdVmN9yN

— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) November 5, 2025

Stirtz didn’t point to this play in his postgame press conference, but he acknowledged Iowa’s high-octane defensive effort. This type of defense wasn’t in McCollum’s pregame message, but the mentality he instilled to Stirtz and the rest of the squad was to avoid what Stirtz called “death by 1,000 paper cuts,” meaning the Hawkeyes couldn’t let the little plays bother them.

Iowa took that message to heart, and Stirtz was proud of the fight he and his club showed.

“I think we were all flying around, ” Stirtz said. “Played with a lot of energy. We were amped up, but we were playing together. Rotations were good. Deflections were good. Hand activity was good. It really jumped them out of the gate.”

By the time the clock hit triple zeroes, the Hawkeyes had 101 points flashing on the scoreboard. McCollum joked that he couldn’t remember the last time one of his teams reached the century mark, but attributed the high-scoring to his defense.

“That’s the first time we’ve scored 100 in a while,” McCollum said. “Probably 100 years ago? I don’t know. Man, I think our defense might have led to some offense. I don’t know why we scored 100.”

While McCollum was pleased with his team’s effort, his natural mentality is to always point out what needs to be improved. The coach emphasized several points to work on before the next game, but highlighted defensive rebounding as a main concern.

While Iowa did win the rebounding battle, 26-25, the Hawkeyes allowed 13 offensive rebounds, leading to 15 second-chance points for Robert Morris.

“The ball is sitting there, and it’s just like, see ball, get ball,” McCollum said. “We really struggled with that tonight, and that’s not what we generally do. I’m not concerned with it. I just don’t want it to happen again, because I don’t like it.”

McCollum and the Hawkeyes will have only a few days to enjoy Tuesday’s win before returning to action on Friday against Western Illinois. Some coaches prefer to take a few extra hours to enjoy a win, but for McCollum, it’s right back to work. That strong work ethic is one of the reasons why McCollum is a four-time Division II national champion, and it’s carried over into his defense on the floor.

“You’re never satisfied as a coach, because it’s, it’s so process focused,” McCollum said. “Obviously you’re a little bit happier for an hour, and then it’s back to whatever, and it’s like – Western Illinois.”