As the crowd in Carver-Hawkeye Arena hushed down in anticipation of the National Anthem, Ryan Kriener stood on the court alongside his teammates with a name written on both of his shoes.

The names — much like the way Kriener points up to the American flag at the conclusion of every national anthem — have become a regular way the senior shows tribute to his grandparents.

“I’ve pointed after every national anthem in my career here,” Kriener said. “That’s for my grandpa. He served. He passed away when I was in the seventh grade from Parkinson’s and ALS, and so that’s always been a nod to him.”

“Leo” is written out on Kriener’s left shoe every game in remembrance of his grandfather. On his right shoe, his grandmother’s name — Rose — is spelled out.

“My grandma just kind of had a miracle recovery from cancer,” Kriener said. “She had stage four colon cancer after Christmas. She went in and was in complete remission. She had no cancer, so it was a miracle recovery.”

The inspiration Kriener gets from the names on his shoes did him good Friday night against Michigan.

The senior has settled into a role off the bench for Iowa, providing a spark when the team needs him most. He did exactly that against the Wolverines.

Kriener entered the game for the first time with 12:42 remaining in the first half. He made an impact immediately.

Over a three minute span, Kriener scored 11 points and went 5-of-5 from the field.

“It was pretty awesome,” Kriener said. “I was joking in the locker room afterwards that I felt like Luka [Garza]. I thought I was going to get 40.”

He fell short of that number but still contributed everything he needed to against the Wolverines.

Kriener finished with 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting. His biggest shot of the night came with 3:05 remaining in the game. Iowa held a one-point lead, but Kriener pulled up and drained a 3-pointer to make the score 83-79.

“I thought Kriener’s 3 might have been the biggest shot of the game,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said. “That’s what you need in that situation.”

Michigan never came back from that deficit, falling 90-83.

Coming in off the bench, Kriener naturally does not draw the attention that some of Iowa’s bigger names do. That plays to Iowa’s advantage.

“He’s a guy I go against every day in practice and all summer, and he’s a tough guy to guard,” Garza said. “I have the ultimate confidence in him. We all do. When he’s playing confidently and aggressively, he’s at his best. He’s been huge for us this year. Whether it’s coming off the bench or starting, he’s playing his role and going out there and giving us a spark.”

Kriener is comfortable in his role off the bench for the Hawkeyes, even if it means he’s not in the limelight. Actually, he may even prefer it.

“I definitely like the role of the underdog a little bit more,” Kriener said. “It’s something that I’ve definitely gotten used to over my time here. We’ve never been picked to be all that great, but we just like to surprise people like this year and last year.”