UI Release (Hunter edit)
12/14/20
Three active sports, three Big Ten Players of the Week. A good way to start a Monday for the University of Iowa.
Senior wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette was named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, following the 16th –ranked Hawkeyes’ 28-7 win against Wisconsin to claim the Heartland Trophy. The announcement was made Monday by the Big Ten Conference office.
It is Smith-Marsette’s first career weekly honor and the fourth time a Hawkeye has earned a weekly conference honor this season. The Newark, New Jersey, native caught a season-high seven passes for a career-high 140 receiving yards and two touchdowns on Saturday. It marked his second straight multi-touchdown game, and the yardage was the most since Marvin McNutt had 151 yards at wide receiver against Purdue in 2011.
Iowa will host the 2-4 Michigan Wolverines Saturday at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN.
To the hardcourt, where Caitlin Clark has done something that no other Big Ten Freshman has been able to accomplish.
ESPN W named her player of the week on Monday. Clark also was named Big 10 Player AND Freshman of the week. It’s the second straight week she’s gotten both awards, and the third straight week getting Freshman of the week.
In Clark’s two games last week, she averaged 34 ½ points, 7 rebounds and five assists. Her 35 points against Michigan State was a career high for her.
The women have the week off for finals, and travel to Ohio State for an 11am game Saturday. It will be shown on BTN Plus.
Not to be ignored, Luka Garza was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week for his performance in three games. He averaged 24.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in wins over North Carolina, Iowa State and Northern Illinois. He saw limited action in the last two games, but made the most of his playing time. He scored 34 points in 17 minutes of action against the Cyclones.
Garza shot 72.7 percent from 3-point land on 8 of 11 shooting last week. His scoring average of 29.2 points leads all Division I players, and he’s now the fifth top scorer in school history.
The 3rd ranked Hawkeyes are also off for finals; they take on top-ranked Gonzaga Saturday at 11am in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. That game will be on CBS.