College basketball rankings: Luka Garza has been a dominant force in the first three games for No. 3 Iowa
Garza's 34 points per game has led the Hawkeyes to a 3-0 start and a No. 3 ranking in the Top 25 And 1
By
Gary Parrish
•
1 min read
The competition has been lackluster, sure. But lots of high-major schools are playing low-major schools right now. And yet nobody is destroying the opposition the way Iowa's Luka Garza is destroying the opposition through the first nine days of this unusual season.
"You can watch film all you want on Garza — until you get out there, you don't know what it's like," said Western Illinois coach Rob Jeter. "Right now, it's too easy for him."
It certainly seems that way.
Garza finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds (in just 26 minutes) in Thursday night's 99-58 victory over Jeter's Leathernecks. The CBS Sports Preseason National Player of the Year was 13-of-21 from the field, including 2-of-4 from 3-point range. He outscored Western Illinois — like, the entire team — 30-26 in the first half of the eventual 41-point win.
The Hawkeyes' perfect record now features victories over Southern, North Carolina Central and Western Illinois — otherwise known as the teams currently ranked 266th, 291st and 346th at KenPom. So, again, the competition hasn't been great or even good. No reasonable person would suggest otherwise. But, that said, Garza is still averaging a national-best 34.0 points and 9.7 rebounds in just 26.0 minutes per game. He's shooting 76.0% from the field, 62.5% from 3-point range, and 80.8% from the free-throw line heading into Tuesday's showdown with North Carolina in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Iowa is No. 3 in Friday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings. North Carolina is No. 19. And Gonzaga remains No. 1 for the 10th consecutive day. Mark Few's Zags will play No. 2 Baylor inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Saturday. That game is scheduled to tip at 1 p.m. ET on CBS.
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Friday's Top 25 And 1 rankings
Biggest Movers
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Corey Kispert finished with 19 points and five rebounds in Wednesday's 87-82 victory over West Virginia. Andrew Nembhard added 19 points and six assists off the bench. | -- | 11-1 |
| 2 |  | Adam Flagler got 18 points off the bench in Wednesday's 82-69 victory over Illinois. Davion Mitchell added 15 points, seven assists and four rebounds. | -- | 7-2 |
| 3 | | Luka Garza finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds in Thursday's 99-58 victory over Western Illinois. The senior center is averaging 34.0 points and 9.7 rebounds through three games. | -- | 9-2 |
| 4 |  | David McCormack finished with 17 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 89-54 victory over Washburn. The Jayhawks' lone loss is their season-opening loss to top-ranked Gonzaga. | -- | 9-3 |
| 5 |  | Aaron Henry finished with 14 points, five assists and five rebounds in Tuesday's 75-69 victory at Duke. Rocket Watts added 20 points and three rebounds. | -- | 10-1 |
| 6 |  | Christian Bishop finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 94-67 victory over Omaha. Marcus Zegarowski added 11 points and 11 assists. | -- | 6-5 |
| 7 |  | Micah Potter finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in Tuesday's 82-42 victory over Green Bay. Tyler Wahl added 11 points and 15 rebounds off the bench. | -- | 7-3 |
| 8 |  | The Illini allowed Baylor to shoot 45.5% from the field in Wednesday's 82-69 loss in Indianapolis. Illinois gave up 51 points in the second half. | -- | 8-3 |
| 9 |  | Wendell Moore missed all nine of his field-goal attempts in Tuesday's 75-69 loss to Michigan State. The Blue Devils shot just 32.3% from the field. | -- | 11-0 |
| 10 |  | The start of the Vols' season has been delayed because of COVID-19 issues. Tennessee is now scheduled to open Wednesday against UT Martin. | -- | 8-3 |
| 11 |  | Keve Aluma finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds in Thursday's 64-57 victory over VMI. The Hokies' 4-0 record features a win over Villanova. | -- | 10-2 |
| 12 |  | Justin Moore finished with 15 points and five assists in Tuesday's 87-53 victory over Hartford. Eric Dixon added 14 points and 10 rebounds off the bench. | -- | 8-2 |
| 13 |  | Miles McBride missed 10 of the 14 shots he attempted in Wednesday's 87-82 loss to Gonzaga. The Mountaineers opened the season with three wins over top-80 KenPom teams. | -- | 8-4 |
| 14 |  | Jay Huff finished with 13 points and five rebounds in Tuesday's 76-51 victory over St. Francis (Pa.). Sam Hauser added 11 points and six rebounds. | -- | 9-1 |
| 15 |  | Marcus Sasser finished with 17 points and three rebounds in Sunday's 64-53 victory over Texas Tech. The Cougars' 3-0 record features three double-digit wins. | -- | 10-1 |
| 16 |  | Matt Coleman hit the game-winning jumper at the buzzer and finished with 22 points in Wednesday's 69-67 victory over North Carolina. Greg Brown added 10 points and six rebounds. | -- | 8-4 |
| 17 |  | The Red Raiders missed 14 of the 18 3-pointers they attempted in Sunday's 64-53 loss to Houston. Mac McClung was 0-of-6 from beyond the arc. | -- | 8-3 |
| 18 |  | E.J. Liddell finished with 16 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 77-44 victory over Morehead State. Kyle Young added 10 points and nine rebounds. | -- | 8-2 |
| 19 |  | The Tar Heels were just 1-of-9 from 3-point range in Wednesday's 69-67 loss to Texas. Caleb Love finished with four turnovers and zero assists. | -- | 10-1 |
| 20 |  | Nathan Cayo finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Sunday's 76-64 victory at Kentucky. The Spiders won despite shooting just 28.0% from 3-point range. | -- | 9-2 |
| 21 |  | The Wildcats missed 18 of the 21 3-pointers they attempted in Tuesday's 65-62 loss to Kansas. Kentucky's starters were 0-of-11 from beyond the arc. | -- | 7-4 |
| 22 |  | Ron Harper Jr. finished with 15 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's 70-56 victory over Hofstra. Jacob Young added 17 points and three rebounds. | -- | 5-6 |
| 23 |  | Remy Martin finished with 22 points and five assists in Thursday's 70-62 victory at California. The Sun Devils' lone loss is a neutral-court loss to Villanova. | -- | 9-3 |
| 24 |  | M.J. Walker finished with 17 points and four rebounds in Wednesday's 86-58 victory over North Florida. Balsa Koprivica added 13 points and five rebounds. | -- | 5-6 |
| 25 |  | Dre Davis finished with 21 points and two assists in Tuesday's 75-54 victory over Western Kentucky. The Cardinals' 4-0 record also features a win over Seton Hall. | -- | 9-2 |
| 26 |  | Isaiah Livers finished with 21 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 84-65 victory over Ball State. Hunter Dickinson added 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. | -- | 10-0 |
