University of Iowa Athletics
Ben Krikke - Men's Basketball - University of Iowa Athletics

#23 Ben Krikke

Position F
Height 6-9
Weight 245 lbs.
Class Graduate Student
Hometown Edmonton, Alberta
High School Jasper Place
Previous School Valparaiso

Hawk Item — Finished his career with 2,065 career points in four seasons at Valparaiso and one season at Iowa… scored in double figures in 106 of 156 career games with 32 20-point games.

2023-24 Honors (Iowa) — Honorable mention All-Big Ten… Big Ten Sportsmanship Award recipient… Big Ten Player of the Week (Nov. 20)… co-recipient of the team’s Kenny Arnold Hawkeye Spirit Award. 2023-24 — Started all 34 games, averaging 28.6 minutes… averaged 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 54.7 percent (186-of-340) from the field and 74 percent (91-of-123) from the free throw line… also had 30 steals (0.9 per game)… ranked fourth in the Big Ten in field goal percentage, 11th in field goals and 18th in points (469)… posted four double-doubles on the year… reached double figures in 24 games with eight 20-point games… shot 60 percent or better from the field in 14 games and had four games with 10 or more field goals… scored a season-high 25 points, making 10-of-14 field goals, grabbing nine rebounds and tallying four steals against Arkansas State (11/17)… posted first double-double, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds against UMBC (12/20)… had 19 points and 10 rebounds against Rutgers (1/6)… tied a season high with 25 points on 11-of-17 shooting in road win at Minnesota (1/15)… had 18 points and a season-high 14 rebounds in road win at Michigan State (2/20)… surpassed the 2,000 career points mark against Penn State (2/27)… finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds in NIT win over Kansas State (3/19)… letterwinner.

2022-23 (Valpo) — Led the Missouri Valley Conference in scoring at 19.4 points per game overall and 21 ppg in conference play… pulled down 5.9 rebounds per game… shot 55.2 percent from the field and 79.6 percent from the free-throw line… also had 67 assists (2.1 per game), 28 blocked shots and 17 steals… started all 32 games… named to the All-MVC First Team, MVC Most-Improved Team and MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, the only player in the conference to earn all three honors… named All-District Second Team by the NABC… in addition to scoring, ranked among the league leaders in rebounding (11th), field-goal percentage (second), free-throw percentage (10th), blocks (ninth), offensive rebounding (ninth) and minutes played (second)… scored 622 points, sixth most in a single season in program history… had 244 made field goals, fourth most in program history and most by a Valpo player since 1972… ranks seventh on the program’s all-time scoring list (1,596)… became the third MVC player since 2005 to average at least 17 points and five boards while shooting better than 75 percent from the line and 50 percent from the field, joining Missouri State’s Isiaih Mosley and Creighton’s Doug McDermott… scored in double figures in 30 of his 32 games, including 13 outputs of 20 points or more and 26 games with 15 points or more… finished the season with 20 consecutive double-figure scoring outputs and was in double figures in all 20 league games… named MVC Player of the Week on Jan. 30 and Feb. 20… scored 30 or more points on three occasions… had two double-doubles.

2021-22 (Valpo) — Named to the All-MVC Third Team while also earning MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team honors… after missing the first three games of the season due to an ankle injury, started the remaining 29 contests… averaged a team-high 14.2 points per game while shooting 53.9 percent from the floor, 84.3 percent from the free-throw line and squeezing 4.5 rebounds per outing… blocked 23 shots and swiped 23 steals… one of three players in the MVC to shoot 50 percent or better from the floor and 80 percent or better from the free-throw line… ranked 11th in the MVC in scoring average, eighth in field-goal percentage and fifth in free-throw percentage… tallied double figures 22 times including a 12-game double-figure streak that was snapped in the final game of the season, the MVC Tournament quarterfinal vs. Missouri State… Had seven performances with 20 points or more and paced the team in scoring on 11 occasions… led the team in rebounding eight times.

2020-21 (Valpo) — Earned MVC Scholar-Athlete First Team, MVC Most-Improved Team and All-MVC Third Team, the only player in the conference to receive all three honors… named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, becoming the third player in program history to achieve that honor… only player to start all 28 games… led the team in scoring both overall (12.3 ppg) and in conference-only action (13.1 ppg)… boosted his scoring average by 5.6 ppg from the previous season… shot at a 52 percent clip overall and 53 percent mark in conference play… ranked eighth in the MVC in free-throw percentage at 79.7 and ninth in blocked shots with 23… tallied double figures 21 times, including seven of the last eight games… led team in scoring nine times and paced the squad on the glass in five contests… made second career start and first against a D-I opponent at Vanderbilt (finished with 13 points, all in the second half)… posted 12 points to go along with a career-high three blocks at Central Michigan… recorded 16 points and seven rebounds on 8-of-11 shooting in the at Toledo… shattered his previous season high by halftime with 17 first-half points vs. Missouri State on his way to a career-high 21… became just the third Valpo player in the last 25 years with a 25-point, 15-rebound game (at Illinois State)… named MVC Player of the Week on Jan. 26… enjoyed his third straight game of 18+ points by scoring 18 on 7-of-9 shooting to lead the team at Evansville, then equaled a career high with four assists in the second game of the back-to-back against the Purple Aces… tallied double figures for the 20th time this season in win over Indiana State… rounded out the season with a 12-point performance in the MVC Tournament opener vs. Missouri State… received Valparaiso University Presidential Academic Honors and member of MVC Academic Honor Roll.

2019-20 (Valpo) — Appeared in 33 games and made one start… averaged 6.7 points per game and 2.9 rebounds per contest while blocking 15 shots, coming away with 15 steals, shooting 79.2 percent at the foul line, draining 14 triples and handing out 22 assists… shot 55 percent from the field, finishing fifth in the conference and second among freshmen in field-goal percentage… scored in double figures nine times, including three games with 15+ points… had eight instances of five or more rebounds… led the team in scoring in three games, rebounds in two and assists in one… made collegiate debut in season opener vs. Toledo… tallied a team-high 18 points to establish a season watermark in win over Trinity Christian; also had four boards and four assists while snatching two steals… collected five rebounds at High Point, marking his second five-rebound effort in a three-game span… reached double figures for the first time since Nov. 27 vs. Trinity Christian, scoring 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in a Jan. 4 win at Evansville… drained three treys at UNI to finish with 13 points… became first Valpo freshman since at least the start of the 1989-90 season to lead the team outright in points, rebounds and assists in a single game on Feb. 1 vs. Illinois State; he set Division-I season highs in all three areas and surpassed his overall season high in rebounds with his line of 17 points, eight boards and four assists… had a team-high 15 points and tied for the team lead with seven rebounds vs. Southern Illinois, his third time this season and second in a four-game span leading the team in scoring… had two double-figure outputs in the MVC Tournament including an 11-point effort that featured seven made free throws in the MVC semifinal vs. Missouri State.

High School — Led Jasper Place H.S. to the Alberta Schools’ Athletic Association provincial championship… earned a spot on the BioSteel All-Canadian game roster… was MVP of the Alberta Basketball All-Star Showcase, scoring 37 points… competed internationally for Team Canada at the 2018 FIBA U17 World Cup in Argentina, averaging 9.9 points per game and 4.4 rebounds per game while helping Canada to a fourth-place finish; was the only player from outside of Quebec or Ontario to make the roster.

Personal — Born March 23, 2001… son of Kent and Aurelie Krikke… enjoys hiking and seeing wildlife when home in Edmonton… enjoys watching the Edmonton Oilers play, giving him a piece of home… father is a physical education teacher and former college basketball player; he has run a basketball camp in Alberta for over 20 years… hobbies include fishing with his dad and cheering on the Toronto Raptors, his favorite pro team… never played ice hockey, but did compete in badminton, volleyball and various track & field events… enjoys mountain biking and chess, which he learned from his grandfather… graduated with a degree in business administration from Valparaiso… pursuing a master’s degree in finance.

CAREER BESTS
Points: 34 at UIC, 2/19/23
Rebounds: 15 at Illinois State, 1/24/21
FGM: 14 at UIC, 2/19/23
FGA: 24 vs. Western Michigan, 11/13/22
3-pt FG: 3, 2x, last vs. Incarnate Word, 11/19/22
3-pt FGA: 6 vs. Drake, 2/4/23
FTM: 11, 2X, last vs. North Florida, 11/29/23
FTA: 12 vs. Drake, 2/4/23
Assists: 6, 2x, last vs. Illinois State, 2/11/23
Steals: 4 vs. Arkansas State, 11/17/23
Blocks: 5 vs. Southern Illinois, 2/14/23
Minutes: 45 at Missouri State, 2/1/23