Iowa Hoops Notebook: Rebraca Surprised by Award

Hawkeye Senior Didn't Expect B1G Player of Week Honor

Iowa’s Filip Rebraca (11) shoots against Iowa State on Dec. 8, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

Filip Rebraca was playing “Call Of Duty” with some of his Iowa teammates when he found out he was named the Big Ten men’s basketball player of the week on Monday.

Rebraca said he was surprised when one of his teammates informed him he had won the award.

“I didn’t even expect that,” Rebraca said Tuesday. “I wasn’t even really thinking about it.”

Rebraca was honored for his 30-point, 9-rebound, 6-assist game in Saturday’s 106-75 win over Southeast Missouri State. That game capped a three-game run by Rebraca in which he averaged 20.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists.

Rebraca said this was probably one of the best stretches of his career.

“I know I had a pretty good stretch at North Dakota in my junior year,” said Rebraca, who transferred from the Summit League program to Iowa before last season. “But I feel like this is higher competition. So I definitely rank this the highest. I feel like I’ve been very efficient.

“I’ve been scoring a lot. I feel like I’ve been getting my teammates open, so maybe that’s something I hadn’t done as well at North Dakota. Having six assists in one game, I was really happy about that.”

“His passing has been spectacular,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. “He was always a great rebounder, a great defender, he could always score. … He’s just been making plays and I think that’s what has been a big difference in our team.”

Rebraca has been able to pick up the production of forward Kris Murray, the Hawkeyes’ leading scorer and rebounder who has missed the last three games with a lower left leg injury.

“We want Kris on the floor,” Rebraca said. “But when he’s not on the floor, we have to play team basketball and I think that’s what’s going to help us in the future. We’re going to see games where (opponents) really focus on Kris, they’re going to mark him. And that’s going to allow us to be efficient and just play as a team.”

EARLY START: Iowa’s players will get an earlier start to their Christmas break.

Wednesday’s game against Eastern Illinois, which was to start at 7 p.m., has been moved to a 2:30 p.m. start because of an approaching winter storm to the Midwest.

Iowa’s women’s game against Dartmouth, originally scheduled for 2 p.m., has been moved to noon.

Fran McCaffery hopes his players will be able to get home for a few days.

“Most of the guys will try to get out of here tomorrow,” he said. “They might have to stay put — we have a pretty good idea on what’s going to happen with the weather, but you never know for sure. So we’ll make good decisions there.”

The Hawkeyes don’t play again until a December 29 game at Nebraska, so McCaffery wants his team to get away for a few days.

“I always hope they get home for a couple of days with their families,” he said. “I think it’s important, especially with the intensity of our schedule so far, that they have an opportunity to kind of get away for a minute, and have some time with their family, and come back ready to go with the remainder of our schedule.”

MURRAY DAY-TO-DAY: McCaffery said Murray is “day-to-day” as he tries to come back from his injury.

McCaffery said Murray won’t play in Wednesday’s game, but could be back for the game at Nebraska.

“Little by little, he’s doing more,” McCaffery said. “So it’s going well.”