Garza Faces Challenge Of Solving Another Defensive Blueprint

LINCOLN, Neb. — Iowa center Luka Garza has seen every kind of defense this season, but what Nebraska threw at him in Tuesday’s 76-70 loss was something that threw him off.

Garza had 16 points and 18 rebounds, but that came on a night when the Huskers came at him in waves.

It was the latest education in a season when the 6-foot-11 junior has faced concoctions of defenses.

“I’m going to break down the film, watch myself,” Garza said. “Teams are going to think it worked tonight, so they’re probably going to use that in the future. I’m going to try to see what I can do to help our team.

“There’s definitely a lot I can learn from this.”

His frustration after the game was matched by his defiance. The Huskers’ plan to double-team, and occasionally triple-team, worked because the Hawkeyes weren’t making outside shots.

Iowa was 4-of-33 in 3-pointers. Joe Wieskamp, the Hawkeyes’ leader in 3-pointers, was 1-of-10 from behind the arc. Connor McCaffery was 3-of-7, but fellow guards Bakari Evelyn and Joe Toussaint was 0-of-8. Garza, a 38.2-percent shooter in 3-pointers, was 0-for-4. Ryan Kriener, a 46.2-percent 3-point shooter, was 0-of-3. And CJ Fredrick, a 50-percent 3-point shooter, was on the bench, sidelined with a stress reaction in his left foot.

But Garza knows the Hawkeyes can shoot better. And that can tear up the blueprint against him as much as anything.

“If teams are going to play us like that, it’s not our feeling we’re going to shoot as bad as we did today,” Garza said. “We’re going to kill teams like that. I’ve got all of the confidence in (the outside shooting). We’re going to tear them up.”

Garza came into the game averaging 22.5 points per game, best in the Big Ten. He was making almost 57 percent of his shots. His performance on Tuesday was his ninth double-double of the season.

“Obviously Luka attracts attention from other teams, with the numbers he keeps putting up,” Wieskamp said. “I think they had a good game plan on him. But at the same time we have shooters who can make shots. They just weren’t falling.”

“They just packed it in,” guard Connor McCaffery said. “They pretty much had three guys on him every time he got the ball.

“For the most part, he’s going to see a crowd the rest of the year every time he touches the ball. That’s what should expect more of, and we need to adapt better to that.”

The double-team on Garza would constantly come from the weak side, not allowing him any room to move.

“This was the most focused game plan I’ve ever seen on me, in terms of just trying not to let me get anything in the post, not letting me go (isolation) on anybody,” Garza said. “No matter where I caught it, the double was already there.”

And it’s going to be there until the Hawkeyes can shoot their way out of it.

“We’re going to take advantage of that,” Garza said. “I have to find better ways to score. I have to find ways to get deeper position.

“We’ve got to shoot it with the same confidence every time. We’ve just got to stay confident, keep shooting.”