Inside the Film Room: How Ben McCollum and Iowa Prep for Big Ten Battles
IOWA CITY - These days, “watching film” might be a dated phrase, but don’t let the terminology fool you - the grind behind the scenes is as intense as ever. For Iowa men’s basketball coach Ben McCollum, scouting an opponent isn’t just about glancing at a few highlight reels. It’s a deep dive into hours of curated video, broken down, spliced up, and studied with surgical precision.
As the Hawkeyes prepare to host Northwestern on Sunday afternoon at Carver-Hawkeye Arena - a pre-Super Bowl showdown with Big Ten implications - McCollum gave a glimpse into just how extensive that preparation really is.
A Whole New World of Opponents
Coming into this season, McCollum and his staff had a steep learning curve. After making the jump from Drake, they were handed an entirely new conference slate. That means new teams, new systems, and yes - a whole lot more video.
“I mean, some are quicker than others,” McCollum said Friday. “But obviously this year, we've had to watch more.”
The process starts broad and narrows with intent. McCollum explained that he and his staff typically begin by watching a team’s four best and four worst offensive performances - same goes for defense. That gives them a baseline read on the highs and lows of an opponent’s identity.
“Then you probably watch all their personnel clips,” he said. “Each individual guy, their assists, their points - everything from the whole season.”
And that’s just the start. Once the staff identifies a handful of games that really stand out - whether for strategic relevance or matchup similarities - they go even deeper. The goal is to enter game day with a complete mental library of what the opponent does, how they do it, and who makes it happen.
No Assigned Scouts - It’s All Hands on Deck
Under previous Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery, scouting responsibilities were often divided up - one assistant would own the prep for a particular game. McCollum takes a different approach. His philosophy is more collaborative, with everyone in the room putting in hours of screen time.
“It takes a long time, a lot of events,” McCollum said. “Sometimes it could be 10 games. I mean, I’ll have probably 12 games of each downloaded - just the offensive and defensive sections and then all the individual personnel.”
That’s not just a few hours on a laptop. That’s a full-on film marathon.
And even with all that prep, the process isn’t always linear. Some teams are just tougher to pin down - not because they’re complex, but because they’re deceptively simple.
“The hardest ones are the ones that are the most simple,” McCollum admitted. “Because you always feel like you're missing something.
You're like, ‘Man, that took me, like, only a couple of hours. That shouldn't take me a couple hours.’”
So what happens next? Coaches do what coaches do - they keep digging. Even if it means spending another 20 hours chasing ghosts.
“But it makes you feel good inside, I guess,” McCollum said with a laugh.
Iowa Rolling, Northwestern Reeling
Heading into Sunday’s matchup, Iowa is riding a wave of momentum. Winners of five straight, the Hawkeyes sit at 17-4 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten - firmly in the hunt in a crowded conference race.
Northwestern, meanwhile, comes in on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Wildcats have dropped two in a row and eight of their last ten, falling to 10-13 overall and 2-10 in conference play.
But if there’s one thing McCollum’s process tells us, it’s that no opponent gets taken lightly. Whether it’s a top-tier contender or a team struggling to find its footing, the film doesn’t lie - and Iowa’s staff is watching every frame.
Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. Sunday on FS1.