One week to go, and we're down to the final eight players. By the end of the week, we'll have one Hawkeye to rule them all. Let's get it on.
THURSDAY'S SCORES
Aaron White def. Matt Gatens 15-11 (63-37)
Jarrod Uthoff def. Dean Oliver 15-4 (86-14)
GAME ONE: No. 1 Adam Haluska vs. No. 2 Peter Jok
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JOK | |
| 6'5" | HEIGHT | 6'6" |
| 210 | WEIGHT | 200 |
| 14.4/4.2 | PPG/RPG (career) | 12.1/3.2 |
| 20.5/4.7 | PPG/RPG (best season) | 19.9/4.5 |
| 51.4 | eFG% (career) | 50.3 |
| 56.9 | eFG% (best season) | 53.1 |
| 35.9 | 3-pt. % | 37.8 |
| 15.9 | Win Shares (career) | 10.5 |
There are three in-state players left in the tournament. One of them goes home here. There are three Big Ten single-season scoring champions left in the bracket. One of them goes home here. It's a razor-tight matchup between two guys who played largely the same way, who put up beastly senior seasons, and who did so for teams in transition that couldn't match their brilliance. Might be the toughest game in the entire bracket to pick.
GAME TWO: No. 1 Luka Garza vs. No. 2 Roy Devyn Marble
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|
MARBLE | |
| 6'11" | HEIGHT | 6'6" |
| 260 | WEIGHT | 200 |
| 16.2/6.9 | PPG/RPG (career) | 12.5/3.4 |
| 23.9/9.8 | PPG/RPG (best season) | 17.0/4.0 |
| 57.7 | eFG% (career) | 46.4 |
| 58.8 | eFG% (best season) | 47.9 |
| 35.8 | 3-pt. % | 33.8 |
| 12.6 | Win Shares (career) | 13.3 |
This is probably the other really tough game. Garza wins on nearly every stat, has better size, has the effective outside shot and enough handle to nullify any big-guy effect. Some of the nation's best centers couldn't stop Garza from scoring at will; how does a 6'6" wing guy? And yet, does anyone really doubt that Roy Devyn Marble is the best pure shot creator we've seen in the last decade? Has there been a guy more certain to find a way to win the game put in front of him?
