Garza Named Semifinalist For Naismith Award

Iowa center Luka Garza was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Award, one of the national player of the year honors.

Garza has scored 716 points this season, the best single-season total in program history. He leads the Big Ten in scoring at 23.7 points per game, which ranks fifth-best nationally.

Garza has scored 20 or more points in a program-record 15 consecutive Big Ten games, the longest streak by any player in the conference since Purdue's Glenn Robinson had 15 consecutive in 1994.

The 6-foot-11 junior has 12 20-point/10-rebound games this season, the most in NCAA Division I play. He is third in points per 40 minutes played at 29.9. Garza has 15 double-doubles, the most for an Iowa player since Reggie Evans had 18 in 2002.

𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙊𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡: @LukaG_55 is @IowaHoops' all-time single-season scoring leader.

Greatness.

BTN x @USCellular pic.twitter.com/r21qCowmEP
— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) March 4, 2020

Garza has scored 25 points or more in 12 games, including the last two games against Penn State and Purdue. His 44-point game at Michigan in December and his 38-point game at Indiana are the top two scoring games in the Big Ten this season.

Garza is one of two centers in the nation shooting better than 35 percent in three-pointers.

Finalists for the award will be released on March 17, and the winner will be announced at the Naismith Awards Brunch in Atlanta on April 5 during the Final Four.

Other semifinalists are Kansas' Udoka Azubuike, Duke's Vernon Carey, Kansas' Devon Dotson, San Diego State's Malachi Flynn, Marquette's Markus Howard, Seton Hall's Myles Powell, Oregon's Payton Pritchard, Maryland's Jalen Smith and Dayton's Obi Toppen.