Luka Garza becomes Iowa men’s basketball program’s first two-time AP All-American
Garza was a unanimous selection by the 63-person media panel.
Iowa forward Luka Garza looks to pass during a men’s basketball game between Iowa and Wisconsin at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Sunday, March 7, 2021. The Hawkeyes, celebrating senior day, defeated the Badgers, 77-73. (Shivansh Ahuja/The Daily Iowan)
March 16, 2021
Luka Garza was named a unanimous All-American by the Associated Press on Tuesday, becoming the first Iowa men’s basketball player in program history to earn first team All-America honors from the AP in consecutive seasons.
The AP announced its 2021 Men’s Basketball All-America teams on Tuesday, which included Garza for a second straight year. Garza received every vote to be the only unanimous selection by the 63-person media voting panel.
Joining Garza on the first team are Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois, Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, Jared Butler of Baylor, and Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham.
The Associated Press is one of four outlets used by the NCAA to determine its consensus All-America teams (AP, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association, and Sporting News). Garza was named to the first-team All-America squad by Sporting News last week with USBWA and the NABC expected to make their announcements in the coming weeks.
Garza is also a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, Senior CLASS Award, and the Lute Olson Award.
Garza (6-foot-11, 265 pounds) has led the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes to 21 victories this season, including wins in eight of their last 10 contests. The Washington, D.C., native leads the nation in total points (687), player efficiency rating (35.84), 30-point games (7), field goals made (258), and 20-point games (19).
The senior is averaging 23.7 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks this season.
The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year averaged 21.9 points per game during the 20-game conference schedule, becoming the third player since 1990 to lead the Big Ten in scoring in consecutive seasons (Michigan State’s Steve Smith and Evan Turner of Ohio State).
Garza broke the Iowa’s 32-year old scoring record held by Roy Marble on Feb. 21, 2021. His 2,246 points rank eighth-best in Big Ten history. Garza’s No. 55 is set to be retired once his Hawkeyes career comes to an end.
No. 2 seed Iowa (21-8) will open NCAA Tournament play on Saturday against 15th-seeded Grand Canyon (17-6). Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 5:25 p.m. (CT) at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.