There’s been several players in college basketball this year that have had terrific individual seasons.
None have done it against the competition level that Garza has faced on a regular basis.
That’s why Iowa’s star big man deserves to be the 2020 National Player of the Year.
The 6-11 junior is averaging 23.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks overall and 26.1 points 9.6 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in Big Ten play.
Those are elite numbers in a league that features a plethora of quality big men and 10 teams that are in position to play in the 2020 NCAA Tournament.
“Think about who he’s doing it against,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery said last week. “These are unprecedented numbers and numbers that the Big Ten hasn’t seen in nearly five decades. Every team in our league has a great big man. Maryland has Jalen Smith, Ohio State has Kaleb Wesson, Illinois has Kofi (Cockburn). The list goes on and on.”
Another thing to keep in mind about Garza?
He was expected to play this season with a better supporting cast and it never materialized. Iowa’s returning starter at point guard — Jordan Bohannon — hasn’t played since December due to a season-ending hip injury and Isaiah Moss was expected to be the Hawkeyes’ starting shooting guard before heading to Kansas as a grad transfer.
Patrick McCaffery and Jack Nunge were also expected to have significant roles in Iowa’s rotation, but neither has been able to play this year due to health issues. That’s led to massive amounts of defensive attention on Garza.
“He’s seen every defense that you could possibly put on an individual,” McCaffery said. “He’s seen double teams, triple teams, you name it. And it doesn’t matter because he’s just going to keep working. He’s not a guy that’s only effective on the block. We move him around on the floor and always make sure that we can do everything we can to help him.”
Garza and Dayton’s Obi Toppin have separated from the rest of the race over the past few weeks which featured Seton Hall’s Myles Powell, Marquette’s Markus Howard, San Diego State’s Malachi Flynn, and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard.
Why Garza over Toppin?
The Flyers’ star is a spectacular talent, but Dayton is currently the only team from the Atlantic 10 that’s a lock to play in the NCAA Tournament.
That’s a stark contrast from what Garza is dealing with in the Big Ten.
Michigan State has a similar feel to 2015
Five years ago, the Spartans entered the NCAA Tournament as a seven seed with 11 losses and wound up advancing all the way to the Final Four.
Will history repeat itself?
That’s to be determined.
This group of Spartans will likely have a better seed than the one that won four games in the field of 68 in 2015 and they’ll also enter the NCAA Tournament with supreme confidence after Saturday night’s 78-66 win at Maryland.
Michigan State never trailed in College Park against the Terps, as four different players scored in double-figures. First-year starters Rocket Watts and Malik Hall combined for 29 and eight rebounds in the victory.
“I thought our freshmen were really good,” Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo said after the game. “Rocket (Watts) was especially good. He’s playing so well defensively now and he was behind because he missed so much time in December. It’s a process and you get better. But we’ve still got work to do.”
The Spartans will close out the regular season with a road game at Penn State on Tuesday followed by a showdown with Ohio State next weekend in East Lansing.
Seton Hall’s potential road to the Final Four begins this week
The Pirates can clinch an outright Big East regular season title with a home win on Wednesday against Villanova, but there’s much more at stake for Kevin Willard’s squad over the next seven days than just winning the conference.
If Seton Hall can beat both Villanova and Creighton in its final two regular season games, it would put itself in position to be one of the top seeds in the NCAA Tournament’s East Region.
Why is that so important?
That means that the Pirates would then play the first two rounds of the field of 68 in Albany with the regionals being held the following week at nearby Madison Square Garden if they were fortunate enough to advance.
Two years ago, Seton Hall lost in the NCAA Tournament’s round of 32 to top-seeded Kansas in a game that was played in Wichita. The site of the game was a little more than two hours away from the Jayhawks’ campus in Lawrence.
“That game told me the importance of seeding in the NCAA Tournament,” Willard said recently.
The Pirates are seeking their first outright Big East regular season title since the 1992-93 season.
This and That:
– San Diego State finished the regular season at 28-1 overall, but the Aztecs need to defend at a higher level if they’re going to win the Mountain West Tournament this week in Las Vegas. In its last three games, San Diego State is allowing an average of 67.3 points. In the two games prior to that, the Aztecs held each of their opponents under 60.
– How has Texas won four straight games and gotten itself back in the NCAA Tournament picture? One reason is the emergence of sophomore Courtney Ramey. The 6-3 guard is averaging 18.5 points and five rebounds during the Longhorns’ recent surge. “Our guys are losing themselves in the fight,” Texas head coach Shaka Smart said on Saturday after Texas’ win at Texas Tech. “This recent winning streak is just a confirmation of what we thought our team could be.” The Longhorns are currently 18-11 overall and next play at Oklahoma on Tuesday.
– One thing I didn’t expect to write in January? UCLA (19-11) can earn a share of the Pac-12 regular season title with a win next Saturday at USC. Another thing I didn’t expect to write in January? Mick Cronin is an easy choice for Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The Bruins have won nine of their last 10 games.
– Creighton’s 20-point loss at St. John’s on Sunday reiterates that the Jays are extremely vulnerable if they’re not shooting the basketball at a high percentage. Creighton was just 4-27 from three-point range against the Red Storm.
– Rutgers’ home game against Maryland on Tuesday night in Piscataway feels like a “win and in” type scenario for the Scarlet Knights. Steve Pikiell’s squad still doesn’t own a marquee road victory on its resume, but beating a potential two seed in the NCAA Tournament could be enough to separate Rutgers from the rest of the bubble. The Scarlet Knights are 18-11 overall and have lost three straight games.
– The West Coast Conference may be one of the most underrated conference tournaments during Championship Week. This league has five teams — Gonzaga, BYU, Saint Marys, Pacific, and San Francisco — that have already won 20 games this season. While Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, and BYU are all comfortably in the NCAA Tournament, the Gaels and Cougars could both significantly improve their potential seed for the field of 68 if they wind up as the last team standing in Las Vegas.
– Saint Louis looks like a team that can steal a bid at the Atlantic 10 Tournament. The Billikens’ two losses to Dayton this season have come by only a combined eight points and they boast NCAA Tournament experience with a pair of terrific juniors in Jordan Goodwin and Hasahn French. Travis Ford’s squad is 21-8 following Sunday’s impressive win at Rhode Island.
Games to Watch:
Monday: NC State at Duke, Texas Tech at Baylor
Tuesday: Maryland at Rutgers, Michigan State at Penn State, Purdue at Iowa, Texas at Oklahoma
