NCAA Basketball: Luka Garza, Drew Timme among top-10 POY contenders
1. Luka Garza | 6’11 Forward | Iowa Hawkeyes
The Iowa Hawkeyes have seen smooth sailing this season thanks to the play of senior big man Luka Garza. He’s been on a tear in the 2020-21 a year after being named a consensus All-American and 2019-20 Big Ten Player of the Year as a junior.
Picking up where he left off against the Southern Jaguars, Garza put up 30+ points once again against the Western Illinois Leathernecks. He finished with 35 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks along with two made 3-pointers to pace Iowa’s offense to a 99-58 victory.
The Hawkeyes are ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll and sit atop the Big Ten as the team to beat thanks to the play of Garza. As a team, they’re beating their opponents by an average of 32.7 points per contest.
Garza has looked good in the Hawkeyes’ first three games of the season, producing a nation-best 34.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 76 percent from the floor and 62.5 percent from 3-point range.
Luka Garza has scored 76 points over his last 2 games.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 4, 2020
That's the most by a Big Ten player over a 2-game span in the last 10 seasons.
His 102 pts this year are the most by a Division I player through his team's first 3 games over the last 10 seasons. pic.twitter.com/UgCQQJkjyG
Granted, his big numbers haven’t come against Power 5 competition, but it’s worth noting. His 76 points across the last two games are the most by a Big Ten player and his 102 total points are the most by a Division I player over the last 10 seasons.
Next. Early Big Ten takeaways of 2020-21 season. dark
Coming up next though, Garza and the Hawkeyes will have their hands full against a North Carolina Tar Heels squad that has their own slew of big men to boost on Tuesday night.