Dec. 21, 2015
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ROSEMONT, Illinois — University of Iowa redshirt freshman Nicholas Baer was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week; it was announced Monday by the Big Ten Conference office.
The honor is the first of Baer’s career and the second time in as many weeks that a Hawkeye earned weekly recognition from the conference office; Jarrod Uthoff was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week on Dec. 14. Baer becomes the first Hawkeye to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors since Mike Gesell on Dec. 17, 2012.
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Baer scored 13 points making five of his 10 field goal attempts, including going 3-of-5 from 3-point range. The native of Bettendorf, Iowa, also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a personal-best six shots while playing a career-high 30 minutes in Iowa’s 70-64 victory over Drake at the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic in Des Moines.
Baer’s six blocks, four of which came in the first half against the Bulldogs, broke the Wells Fargo Arena record in a college basketball game. The six rejections in a game were also the most by an Iowa freshman since Melsahn Basabe denied six shots against Ohio State in 2011. Baer’s six blocks helped Iowa establish a school record for total blocks in a game with 14, besting the previous mark of 13 set against Illinois on March 5, 2013.
Baer and the Hawkeyes (8-3) return to action Tuesday when they entertain Tennessee Tech (8-4) in Iowa’s nonconference finale. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:31 p.m. (CT) on Mediacom Court at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The game will be streamed on computers and mobile devices via ESPN3 (WATCHESPN).
