‘I came back to play in this tournament’: Luka Garza returns to NCAA stage for his final games in Hawkeye uniform
The senior returned for his final season as a Hawkeye to do what he couldn’t last year — play in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
Iowa center Luka Garza catches a rebound and then drops it during the Big Ten men’s basketball tournament semifinals against Illinois on Saturday, March 13, 2021 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes were defeated by the Fighting Illini, 82-71. No. 2 Illinois and No. 5 Ohio State will compete in the championship game tomorrow afternoon.
March 18, 2021
When Luka Garza announced over Zoom last August that he was returning to Iowa for his senior season, his decision was driven by championship goals.
“I’m very happy to be back with my teammates and look toward winning a national championship,” Garza said Aug. 2. “We have big goals in mind… hopefully we can make some history this year.”
Well, championship season has arrived. Now is the time for the Hawkeyes to make history.
The No. 2 seed Iowa men’s basketball team opens NCAA Tournament play against 15th-seeded Grand Canyon at 5:25 CT Saturday at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The game will air on TBS.
“I came back to play in this tournament,” Garza said Wednesday. “This is something I’ve been locked into for a while now. Not having the tournament last year has added to the motivation since that moment. It’s very exciting to be here… I think we have a chance to do something special if we play like we’re capable of playing.”
The last time Garza played on the sports’ biggest stage was in 2019, when Iowa lost in the Round of 32 in overtime to Tennessee. Last season, the Hawkeyes were postseason bound before COVID-19 led to the tournament’s cancellation.
Now, Garza is back in the NCAA Tournament. And he’s expanded his résumé since his last trip, as his accomplishments in the last month would indicate.
On Feb. 21, he became the men’s program’s all-time leading scorer, breaking Roy Marble’s 32-year-old record. Last Tuesday, the Washington, D.C.-native became the first Hawkeye to become a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year. And Thursday, the nation’s scoring leader notched consensus first team All-American honors for the second season in a row — a program first.
Iowa’s opponent on Saturday is quite aware of Garza’s success.
“He’s just so good with his footwork around the basket,” first-year Grand Canyon coach Bryce Drew said. “Garza has the ability to step out and make 3s and make shots. There’s a reason why he was Player of the Year, and there’s a reason why he’s first team All-American. That’s because he’s a really good player.”
Garza’s matchup in the post against Grand Canyon (17-6) will be the Antelopes’ 7-foot center from Denmark — Asbjorn Midtgaard. The Wichita State transfer is Grand Canyon’s leader in points (14) and rebounds (9.9) per game this season.
But after four seasons going against the best centers in the best conference in the country, Garza is prepared for anything opposing teams can do to try and slow him down.
“He’s really good, by the way,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said of Midtgaard. “And they have more than one [big]. They have a big team. They have really good players, and a really good coach. But we pretty much see that every night. Every team has a big man like that. It’s something we are used to in terms of how we try to run our offense successfully, in many ways through him.”
After leading Iowa to a 21-8 record to this point in the season, Garza is now looking to lead Iowa to where it hasn’t been in decades.
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The Iowa’s men’s basketball program hasn’t advanced to the second weekend of the tournament since 1999. The team’s last Final Four appearance was in 1980. The Hawkeyes’ two-seed this season is tied for the best in program history and their highest since 1987.
The Hawkeyes realize what’s at stake this March (and possibly April).
As Garza said when he announced he was withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft, this is the season for Iowa to make a tournament run.
Garza and senior point guard Jordan Bohannon, the program’s all-time leader in assists and 3-pointers, are playing their final games as Hawkeyes during this postseason run. Junior guard Joe Wieskamp may be as well as the start of his NBA career may be his next step after this season.
Only eight 15 seeds have ever defeated a two seed. And assuming Iowa wins Saturday, a matchup with the winner of Oregon-VCU would be played on Monday. A win there would advance Iowa to the second weekend of the tournament.
But before they start looking ahead too much, the Hawkeyes are focused on their meeting with the Antelopes. And Garza is all-in on making his last tournament run count.
“It’s all about Grand Canyon right now,” Garza said. “Making sure we beat them to stay alive.”
