The Breakdown: Ryan Kriener

Senior forward had his best season to close his career.

Ryan Kriener was asked, late in Iowa's season, whether this was his favorite season as a Hawkeyes.

"I'll tell you," he said, smiling, "when it's over."

It didn't end the way Kriener wanted — the Hawkeyes didn't get a chance to play in the NCAA tournament.

From a numbers standpoint, this was certainly Kriener's best season.

The senior forward averaged 7.7 points, best of any Hawkeye off the bench. He played 569 minutes, the most of his career, and had a career-high 128 rebounds. He also had 24 blocked shots, doubling his output from last season.

Kriener was one of the stabilizing parts of this team. He made six starts this season, the most of his career, and was a player that coach Fran McCaffery called on in key situations.

It's been an up-and-down career for Kriener, who was plagued by two concussions that changed his sophomore season.

"He definitely has had a tremendous impact in the last two years," McCaffery said. "We always go back to that sophomore year where I think he was really on the verge, and then he had the two concussions, which obviously would set anybody back. When we played Penn State here that year, he was on his way to having one of the best games of the year, and that's when he got his first injury. And then he had the other one at Rutgers, and it took a little while, as you can imagine. Any time you have two ... we did not rush him back, and we missed him. We needed him that year.

"So we got him back, and he was great the last two years, because he can come off the bench and score. He can come off the bench and lead. He can come off the bench and bring toughness, and he can come off the bench and be a defender. He can switch ball screens and guard small guys. He can close and contest at the rim and block shots. Just phenomenally valuable, and one thing I always say about him is he's not out there making mistakes, plays within himself. He has a complete skill set."

Best game — Kriener was 9-of-9 from the field in just 17 minutes of play, scoring 20 points in the win over Kennesaw State on Dec. 29.

Notes — That game against Kennesaw State started a streak of 16 consecutive made field goals in a three-game home stretch. ... Kriener scored in double figures seven times, and led the team in blocked shots six times. ... He scored 11 points in a four-minute span in a win over Michigan.