Iowa Basketball: 3 takeaways from Hawkeyes win over Northern Iowa

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EAST LANSING, MI – DECEMBER 03: Luka Garza #55 of the Iowa Hawkeyes drives to the basket against Kenny Goins #25 of the Michigan State Spartans in the second half at Breslin Center on December 3, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /

Which Luka Garza will show up the rest of the year?

Luka Garza has arguably been the Hawkeyes second best player this year, but he has been incredibly inconsistent. The reason for worry is that he has played great versus their outmatched opponents (17 points against Northern Iowa) and struggled versus their top competition.

Versus kenpom tier A teams Garza is averaging 8.5 points and versus lesser competition, he is averaging 15.2 points per game. This is worrisome because the Hawkeyes still have eleven tier A games left on their schedule.

If the Hawkeyes want to be able to beat some of the best teams in the country they will need their second best player to show up in the big games. Garza has great skills as a 6-11 post player but hasn’t shown it versus top competition.

Garza is averaging 12.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists in his sophomore season. One area that Garza excels is from the three-point line. He is shooting 37.5 percent from behind the arc. This unique post player skill can stretch the defense and open up driving lanes for other players like Cook.

If the Hawkeyes want to compete in the Big Ten, they will need to get Garza to play at a high level alongside Cook.

Next. Early Big Ten POY contenders. dark

The Hawkeyes next game is versus Western Carolina on Tuesday, December 18. This game can be watched in the Big Ten Network at 9:00 PM ET.

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