One of the common themes throughout this college basketball season is that there is no dominant team that has been able to stand out among the rest. That should make for a wide-open NCAA Tournament this March with dozens of teams capable of making a deep run. One team that shouldn’t be overlooked as a potential Cinderella candidate is the Iowa Hawkeyes, who have a college basketball money line of +5000 to win a national championship (DraftKings Sportsbook), and for sure were not a team that the people who make college basketball expert picks were choosing to go far, but have a lot of the qualities of a team that can win multiple tournament games and reach the Final Four.
- Center Luke Garza is one of the best players in the country and capable of putting the Hawkeyes on his back.
- Iowa’s supporting cast around Garza is underrated, as it has good shooters and willing passers.
- After playing in the Big Ten, Iowa is battle-tested and ready for the NCAA Tournament.
The Big Man
One of the biggest reasons why Iowa should be viewed as a threat in March is that they have a star player who can put a team on his back in Luke Garza. The 6’11’’ senior is a serious candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year and perhaps even National Player of the Year. On the season, he’s averaging 23.7 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. In Big Ten play alone, he has eight double-doubles. However, what separates Garza from similar players is that he’s not an ordinary big man. He’s a skilled passer and a capable three-point shooter, knocking down 35.6% of his three-point attempts and making the third-most perimeter shots of anyone on the Iowa roster. Garza is the rare type of player who can score in the paint while also drawing his defender away from the basket. In short, he’s arguably the most unique and versatile player in college basketball.
The Supporting Cast
The Hawkeyes are also a threat because they are anything but a one-man team. In addition to Garza’s 23.7 points per game, Iowa has two other players who average in double-figures in Joe Wieskamp and CJ Fredrick who average 14.4 and 10.7 points per game, respectively. Both are strong three-point shooters, particularly Frederick, who makes 46.8% of his shots beyond the three-point arc. Iowa’s passing and willingness to share the ball is also impressive. The Hawkeyes rank 10th nationally in assists with 17.3 per game. While every individual on Iowa’s roster averages fewer than four assists per game, everyone on the floor is a willing passer, which is why the Hawkeyes have such a high assist total on the season.
Battle-Tested
Last but not least, Iowa is an appealing Cinderella candidate because they are battle-tested. The Hawkeyes are in the middle of the Big Ten standings and haven’t been a popular pick for the college basketball public betting community, but they’ve more than held their own in a conference that could get as many as 10 teams in the NCAA Tournament. Iowa has double-digit wins in the best conference in the country and seven wins over teams that were ranked at the time. The Hawkeyes aren’t going to back down from any team they face in March after the difficult schedule they’ve faced.
