JOE WIESKAMP

Oregon players celebrate following a second-round game against Iowa. When another kink surfaced in the NCAA Tournament, the resilient, adaptable Ducks shook it off and soared. Chris Duarte scored 23 points and Oregon showed no signs of rust after a long layoff, beating No. 2 seed Iowa 95-80 on Monday to reach the Sweet 16 for the fourth time in the past five NCAA Tournaments. “We did and it was a lot of fun.”The Ducks' sweet offensive movements left the Hawkeyes (22-9) flailing, one game short of the Sweet 16 for the fourth time under Fran McCaffery.

(AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)INDIANAPOLIS – Iowa got 24 points from Luka Garza and avoided the early NCAA Tournament exit that befell other high seeds with an 86-74 victory over Grand Canyon in the West Region on Saturday night. AdGrand Canyon (17-7) gave the Havocs reason to remain on their feet early by keeping the Hawkeyes within reach before an Iowa surge before halftime allowed the Hawkeyes to pull away. Garza got off to a great start, hitting a pair of 3-pointers while scoring eight early points. Iowa made six 3s and hit 16 of 29 shots to stretch the lead to 42-31 at halftime. Grand Canyon had its first taste of the NCAA Tournament and the Havocs had a road party.

Iowa center Luka Garza walks off the court after an NCAA college basketball game against Wisconsin, Sunday, March 7, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. All rights reservedIOWA CITY, Iowa – It was Senior Day, but Luka Garza didn’t know he was going to have to give a speech. Minutes after the 6-foot-11 star scored 21 points and had 16 rebounds to lead the fifth-ranked Hawkeyes over No. 25 Wisconsin 77-73 Sunday, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta announced Garza’s jersey No. “Those two guys (Garza and Bohannon) were going to make sure we didn’t lose the game,” McCaffery said.

15 Iowa still had enough from the rest of its team to rout Michigan State 88-58 on Saturday. Michigan State started the afternoon hoping to earn a quality win against a team it lost by just six points to earlier this month. Michigan State: Izzo was in his second season the last time he didn't coach in the NCAA Tournament, and the next time might be next month. POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Hawkeyes should move up in the Top 25 after routing Michigan State on the road and beating No. 25 Rutgers by 13 points earlier in the week.

Indiana guard Rob Phinisee (10) celebrates with teammates during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Iowa, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. Iowa led by nine in the second half, then went 11 minutes without a field goal as Indiana went on a 23-3 run. Iowa was 9 of 34 from the field in the second half, including 1 of 10 on 3-pointers. But he faced constant double-teams and with no outside shooting to open the lane, found himself surrounded in the second half. “Credit to them, they did a good job in the second half of taking everything away from me,” Wieskamp said.

Iowa center Luka Garza (55) celebrates with teammate Jordan Bohannon (3) after making a 3-point basket during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Minnesota, Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021, in Iowa City, Iowa. The Iowa senior guard had 19 points and a career-high 14 assists, Luka Garza had 33 points and the No. “If it wasn’t for Luka making his layups, I wouldn’t have 14 assists,” Bohannon said. Minnesota (10-4, 3-4) rallied from a 63-45 deficit to get within five twice late in the second half. The 1,000th point came on a free throw with 17:48 left in the second half.

Iowa guard Joe Wieskamp (10) and Minnesota guard Gabe Kalscheur (22) vie for the ball in overtime of an NCAA college basketball game Friday, Dec. 25, 2020, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)MINNEAPOLIS – Brandon Johnson made all four his 3-point attempts in overtime and finished with 26 points and nine rebounds, leading Minnesota's late surge to upset No. They trailed by seven points with 44 seconds left in regulation and outscored the Hawkeyes 29-15 the rest of the way. Then Carr hit the tying 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds remaining, bringing the Gophers bench players leaping onto the court. Garza started gobbling up rebounds and turning them into gimme putbacks, and Iowa looked like it was in control.

Gonzaga guard Jalen Suggs (1) shoot a 3-pointer during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Iowa, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020 in SIoux Falls, S.D. Suggs entered the game against Iowa averaging 13.3 points per game. We got into the double bonus relatively early in the second half, but then we miss 12 free throws, which is also very uncharacteristic of our team.”Iowa seemed to have one last gasp midway through the second half. Entering the game, Gonzaga was just 16 for 55 from beyond the arc in its first three games. Iowa: The 99 points scored by Gonzaga is the most Iowa has given up this season.

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)IOWA CITY, Iowa – Luka Garza and Jack Nunge came to Iowa in the same recruiting class. 3 Iowa stayed unbeaten with a 99-58 win over Western Illinois on Thursday night. “It’s been a long road for me — it’s been over a year since I’ve played a game,” Nunge said. “You can watch film all you want on Garza,” Western Illinois coach Rob Jeter said. Iowa led 48-26 at halftime before Western Illinois (0-1) reeled off an early second-half run to get to 61-46.

FILE - Gonzaga players celebrate after defeating Saint Mary's in an NCAA college basketball game in the final of the West Coast Conference men's tournament in Las Vegas, in this Tuesday, March 10, 2020, file photo. Gonzaga will begin the college basketball season No. 1 for the first time after coach Mark Few's bunch earned 28 first-place votes in the preseason AP Top 25 poll released Monday, Nov. 9, 2020. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)

Iowa was picked fifth behind national player of the year front-runner Luka Garza, its highest preseason ranking in school history. The Bears, who also have their highest preseason ranking, spent five weeks at No. THE REST OF THE POLLCreighton lost Ty-Shon Alexander to the NBA and Davion Mintz to Kentucky but still landed the highest preseason ranking in school history at No. 17, its highest preseason ranking since the final Phi Slama Jama team of Hakeem Olajuwon began the 1983-84 season at No. 6 in the final poll last season but losing Mountain West player of the year Malachi Flynn and two other elite producers.