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IOWA CITY, Iowa — The University of Iowa Student-Athletes Academic Services (SAAS) announced Wednesday Kathleen Doyle (women’s basketball) and Luka Garza (men’s basketball) have been named February’s Student-Athletes of the month.
Doyle, a native of LaGrange Park, Illinois, is currently leading the Big Ten in assists (185) and assists per game (6.4), ranking fifth and seventh, respectively. She averaged 16.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.4 assists in seven games during February. Doyle recorded two 20-point games and finished all seven games in double-figure scoring. On Feb. 6, Doyle set an Iowa record for assists (15) in a single game against Nebraska. She currently ranks third in the conference for free-throw attempts (182), free-throws made (144), and free-throw percentage (79.1).
The Hawkeyes will now await their postseason destination. NCAA Tournament brackets will be released on March 16 at 6 p.m. (CT) on ESPN.
Garza, a native of Washington, D.C, was named one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. For the month of February, he averaged 25.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.5 blocked shots in eight games, helping then nationally-ranked Hawkeyes to a 5-3 record. Garza led the team in scoring in seven of the eight games. Garza and the Hawkeyes beat three ranked opponents (No. 19 Illinois, No. 24 Ohio State, and No. 16 Penn State. On Feb. 13, he poured in 38 points in Iowa’s game at Indiana. The 38 points were two points from tying an Assembly Hall single-game record for an opposing player. Garza has the two highest scoring outputs in the Big Ten this season (44 at Michigan; 38 at Indiana). Scored 20+ points in 10 straight games against AP Top-25 teams, the longest streak by any player in the country in 15 seasons, Garza averages 26.5 points and 11.3 rebounds in 11 games against ranked opponents this season. His 14 double-doubles are second most in the Big Ten; 20th most in the nation. His 11 games of 20+ points and 10+ rebounds lead the NCAA. Garza’s scoring average of 26.1 points per game in Big Ten play is the highest by a true center since Minnesota’s Tom Kondla (28.3 ppg) in 1967. His six games with 25+ points & 10+ rebounds are the most in the Big Ten in the last 17 seasons. Garza became the first Hawkeye to ever score 700 points in a season, surpassing John Johnson’s record of 699 set 50 years ago (1970). He finished the month of February scoring 20+ points in all eight contests. He scored 20+ points in a school-record 14 straight Big Ten contests, breaking Fred Brown’s 49-year old record set in 1971 (13 straight). Garza has topped 20+ points, a school-record, 23 times this season.
Iowa will begin postseason play as the No. 5 seed at the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament in Indianapolis. The Hawkeyes will begin play on Thursday at approximately 1:30 p.m. (CT) against Minnesota/Northwestern.
