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Travis Hines
| Hawk Central
IOWA CITY, Ia. — Iowa all-American center Luka Garza was unusually quiet Friday … until he was very loud.
Garza sat most of the first half of the No. 3 Hawkeyes’ 105-77 win over Iowa State, and seemed to take that personally. When the second half started, he was ready to take it out on the Cyclones.
The only question was whether Garza was going to make a two-point shot or a 3-pointer. He sank five of each after intermission, without missing. His 3-pointers never even touched the rim. Each time, Garza retreated downcourt and held up his shooting hand, as if to say: I’m unstoppable right now.
He was.
At one point, Garza scored 21 straight Hawkeye points. He was a one-man wrecking crew.
Garza scored 34 points in only 17 minutes before heading to the bench for good after helping the Hawkeyes build a 25-point lead. It was the fourth time in five games this season he’s eclipsed 30 points.
But never has it happened with such suddenness, and such force. Garza seemed to take the fight right out of the Cyclones (1-2) to help the Hawkeyes win a third consecutive game in this rivalry.
Here’s what we learned:
JOE TOUSSAINT PROVIDES A SPARK: The sophomore backup point guard ended up with seven assists and helped the Hawkeyes force two second-half shot-clock violations in his most extended playing time of the season. Starter Jordan Bohannon struggled with his 3-point shooting, so Toussaint was the perfect answer. He scored four points but more importantly brought an intensity to the proceedings that Iowa needed.
EARLY LULL FOR IOWA: The Hawkeyes ran out to a 9-2 lead in the opening two minutes of play, prompting a timeout by Iowa State coach Steve Prohm. Iowa seemed to be too satisfied with that fast start, however, and the Cyclones quickly became the aggressors, making five consecutive shots to pull within two points. At the first media timeout, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery benched his top three players, Garza, Joe Wieskamp and Jordan Bohannon. Things didn’t turn around immediately, but Iowa maintained its lead and was getting productive minutes from Toussaint, until he was called for a second foul and sent to the bench. It was a needed lesson for the Hawkeyes not to relinquish their intensity, even when heavy favorites and with an early lead. Iowa State is a proud team and made Iowa pay, at least for a few minutes.
GETTING BY WITHOUT GARZA: For the first time this season, the Hawkeyes experienced a first half with Garza planted on the bench with two fouls. It has long been a Fran McCaffery belief that a player must be protected from getting three fouls by halftime, even when it’s his star. Garza got his second with nearly 11 minutes left with the Hawkeyes leading by eight points. Even after the Cyclones rallied to take a brief lead, McCaffery stuck with his strategy, using Jack Nunge and even freshman Keegan Murray at the center spot. It all turned out OK when Nunge produced 15 points and eight rebounds and Iowa went on a late 12-0 run to lead 52-41 at intermission.
A MAJOR GULF: Iowa State knew it had a lot of retooling to do this season with four freshmen and seven new players in the lineup, and that was evident in a loss to South Dakota State last week. This loss to the Hawkeyes, though, showed the gulf between Iowa State and the country’s best.
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Which is a problem given the Cyclones play in the Big 12, which is full of top-25 teams and potential All-Americans.
It’s early, Iowa State was coming off a long layoff and these Hawkeyes are talented and experienced, but the second-half beatdown should serve as a warning for the Cyclones of how far they have to go – and go quickly with league play starting next week – if they want to at least be competitive in the Big 12.
Iowa next hosts Northern Illinois on Sunday.
Iowa State begins Big 12 Conference play by hosting Kansas State on Tuesday.
