Iowa Basketball Honors Some of Program’s Best, Blows Out Spartans [PHOTOS/VIDEO]
Tuesday night was a special one at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City. Iowa raised the jerseys of four former men's basketball players to the rafters and blew out Michigan State.
Before the game began, Iowa honored three greats of the past. Chuck Darling, Murray Wier, and Roy Marble.
Chuck Darling wore #27 for the Iowa basketball team from 1950-52. The Denison, Iowa native was a consensus first-team All-American his senior season. He led Iowa in scoring his last two seasons, averaging more than 25 points per game as a senior.
Murray Wier, who wore #17 at Iowa, was a native of Grandview, Iowa. The four-year starter at Iowa played for the Hawkeyes from 1945-1948. He helped the Hawks win the Big Ten Title his freshman year. As a senior, Wier led the nation in scoring and was named a consensus first-team All-American.
Wier's family was on hand last night as his jersey was unfurled.
Roy Marble wore #23 during his Hawkeye career from 1986-1989. Marble scored 2,116 points, becoming the first Hawkeye to surpass 2,000 points in his career. Iowa was 97-37 in his career and appeared in the NCAA Tournament each year he was with the Hawkeyes. They made both the Elite Eight and the Sweet 16 during his career.
Marble's family, including his son and former Hawkeye Devyn Marble, were in attendance Tuesday night.
At halftime, Iowa honored Luka Garza. The two-time National Player of the Year and Big Ten Player of the Year at Iowa from 2018-2021 wore #55 during his Iowa career. He's Iowa's all-time leading scorer and is second in rebounding in program history.
Garza's father, mother, grandfather, and girlfriend were at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Tuesday night.
It was an emotional moment as the family watched his jersey drop from the rafters as the crowd chanted, "Luka... Luka..."
With all of that as the backdrop, the Hawkeyes left little doubt who was the better team between them and Michigan State, at least on this night.
Keegan Murray poured in 28 points on 10 of 15 from the field and Iowa tickled the nets with 3-pointers throughout the night as well. Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo sat on the bench almost exclusively in the second half, knowing this was not to be his team's night. However, he did get whistled for a technical foul in the second stanza.
Last night's 86-60 win was Iowa's 500th inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena over the last 39 years. Iowa, 19-8 overall and 9-7 in the Big Ten, travels to Nebraska on Friday. The game tips off at 8:07 p.m. on FS1.
Here are some game photos from last night's Iowa win:
Since Tony Perkins (#11 below) has entered the Iowa starting lineup, the offense has taken off.
Kris Murray (24) and his brother Keegan Murray (15) slap hands during last night's action.
Keegan was unstoppable in the paint.
Connor McCaffery hit two 3-points in less than one minute to key an Iowa run.
Jordan Bohannon celebrates a "3" that caused the Iowa crowd to roar.
Ahron Ulis (4) celebrates.
The Iowa bench overjoyed over another "3".