Five of the Best Moments From Luka Garza’s Final Season With the Iowa Hawkeyes

The 2020-21 NCAA Division I college basketball season has concluded. The Baylor Bears are the national champions and they capped off a brilliant season. While it was jubilation for Baylor, it was pure agony for Luka Garza and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Since Garza will no longer play for the Hawkeyes, here’s a compilation of the five best performances from his final season with Iowa. 

Luka Garza is the greatest player in Iowa Hawkeyes’ history, but he’s too humble to accept it. The six-foot-eleven center played four seasons in Iowa and left an unerasable mark with his displays of dominance. 

Garza couldn’t fulfill his ultimate goal of winning the NCAA championship with the Iowa Hawkeyes, but the fans will still celebrate him as a legend. Garza’s name will hang in the rafters of Carver-Hawkeye Arena forever as the team retired his #55 jersey at the end of his senior year. 

Five stellar performances from Luka Garza in his senior year with the Iowa Hawkeyes

Luka Garza was a beast in his final season with the Hawkeyes. He finished the season with averages of 24.1 points and 8.7 rebounds on an impressive 55.3% field goal shooting. Furthermore, Garza recorded seven 30-point games in his senior year, including a 36-point performance in his final game with the Iowa Hawkeyes. 

So here’s five games where Luka Garza really stood out with his talent:

1. Season-high 40-piece against the Southern Jaguars

Luka Garza wasted no time in announcing his business as a senior. After returning to play for Iowa, he dropped 41 points in the Hawkeyes’ second game of the regular season. 

Garza was unstoppable as he helped Iowa post a blowout 103-76 victory against the Southern Jaguars on November 27, 2020

Garza’s stat line: 41 points, nine rebounds, and three blocks

2. Back-to-back dominance to kick-star the season

The Iowa Hawkeyes enjoyed an incredible start to the season all thanks to Luka Garza. After a 40-piece in the second regular-season game, Garza extended his dominance and recorded 35 points and 10 rebounds in the subsequent fixture against Western Illinois. 

Garza’s stat line: 35 points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks 

3. An emphatic display against the top-ranked team in the nation

Luka Garza got the Iowa Hawkeyes to an incredible start. He led the team to a 6-0 record in the regular season, but the Hawkeyes suffered their first defeat against the Gonzaga Bulldogs on December 18. 

Gonzaga came into the fixture as the #1 ranked team in the country and defeated the Hawkeyes 99-88. However, Garza once again stood out with his individual performance and finished with yet another 30-piece. 

Garza’s stat line: 30 points, 10 rebounds, and three blocks

4. Final regular-season game of Hawkeyes career

Luka Garza gave it his all for the Iowa Hawkeyes. As the final regular-season game of his four-year career approached, the dominant center ensured that he stood out with his performance. 

The Hawkeyes played #25 seed Wisconsin and rode to a 77-73 victory on the back of a dominant Luka Garza performance. 

Garza’s stat line: 21 points, 16 rebounds, and three blocks 

5. An emotional farewell in the final game with Iowa

All good things have to come to an end. Likewise, fans want Luka Garza to keep donning the Hawkeyes’ jersey, but he’s done with his four seasons at the school. The Hawkeyes were expected to come up big in the 2021 NCAA tournament, but they fell in the second round to the Oregon Ducks. 

It was pure agony for Luka Garza, as he did everything in his powers to help Iowa win the game. However, the Hawkeyes fell short of the finish line and were knocked out. This also marked the end of Garza’s NCAA career. 

Garza’s stat line: 36 points and nine rebounds

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