Way-too-early Bart Torvik projections for Iowa Men's Hoops
It hasn’t even been five weeks since Michigan cut down the nets at the national championship game, and yet, we’re already looking ahead to some projections for 2026-27. We turn to Bart Torvik for our first post-portal/preseason projections to get a look at what might be in store for Ben McCollum and the Iowa Men’s Basketball team next season.
Coming off of a 24-13 season that saw the Hawkeyes advance all the way to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1987, Bart Torvik doesn’t see Iowa improving, at least in the regular season. The Hawkeyes currently sit at No. 44 in the country and No. 12 in the Big Ten.
Michigan (No.1), Michigan State (No. 6), Illinois (No. 13), Nebraska (No. 16), Ohio State (No. 18), UCLA (No. 21), Indiana (No. 24), Purdue (No. 28), USC (No. 29), Oregon (No. 32) and Maryland (No. 39) all rank ahead of the Hawkeyes in the way-too-early projections. Just six Big Ten teams rank behind Iowa, with Wisconsin (No. 50) and Washington (No. 68) being the two closest chasers in the Torvik rankings.
The major departure from last season is, of course, Bennett Stirtz who is expected to be a first-round pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. They also lost Alvaro Folgueiras to the portal and await the ruling on a possible fifth year for Tavion Banks.
As the roster currently stands, Torvik has forward Cooper Koch Iowa’s top projected contributor, followed by guard Kael Combs and St Mary’s transfer center Andrew McKeever. Illinois State transfer guard Ty’Reek Coleman is fifth on the Iowa’s projected contributor list behind forward Tate Sage who had a breakout season as a true freshman. Forward Cam Manyawu, guard Isaia Howard and freshman guard Ethan Harris round out the projected top eight. If the Hawkeyes were able to get Tavion Banks for one more season, Torvik would project him as the second-best contributor behind Koch.
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For reference, Iowa finished ranked No. 23 overall last season, with the 16th-ranked offense and the 38th-ranked defense. Torvik actually had them as a top 25 team going into the NCAA Tournament (No. 23), before they became the first nine seed to upset the top seed in their region and make the Elite Eight since 2018 (Florida State).
The national champions, Michigan, finished ranked No.1, while Duke (No. 2), Arizona (No. 3), Florida (No. 4) and Houston (No. 5) rounded out the top five. Iowa was one of nine Big Ten teams to finish in the postseason top 25 and were the only team outside the top 13 to make the Elite Eight.
Take a look at the top 75 and see how the Bart Torvik Rankings are projecting the 2026-27 season to play out with six months until teams’ tipoff.
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