Looking at Iowa's 30-point Scorers Under Fran McCaffery

Filip Rebraca Became 11th Hawkeye to Hit mark

Iowa’s Filip Rebraca (0) dribbles around Wisconsin’s Carter Gilmore during their game on Dec. 11, 2022 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Filip Rebraca played the game of his career Saturday, and he made it look easy.

“I wish it was always that easy, you know?” the senior said after scoring 30 points, adding nine rebounds and six assists in a 106-75 victory against Southeast Missouri State. Rebraca established career highs for points and assists in the 154th game of his college career.

It took just 26 minutes for Rebraca to become the 11th Hawkeye player to reach the 30-point mark under Coach Fran McCaffery. One of those 11 sat courtside Saturday and watched Rebraca make 12 of 13 shots from the field, including a missed dunk that went in.

Matt Gatens is in his first season as a McCaffery assistant at Iowa, where he scored 1,635 points from 2008-09 to 2011-12.

Gatens waited 120 games to reach the 30-point mark. And he got there with a shooting display for the ages at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The 6-foot-5 guard scored 30 points in a 78-66 victory against No. 18 Indiana on Feb. 19, 2012. Four days later, he scored 33 points in a 67-66 victory over No. 16 Wisconsin.

Gatens made seven of 10 3-pointers in both of those victories, including a stretch of 12 straight that bridged both games.

“The funny thing is I remember the 13th felt as good as any of them,” Gatens said. “I think I was wide open, and I missed. I thought for sure it was going in. I was shocked.”

Gatens became the first McCaffery-coached Hawkeye to reach the 30-point mark. Devyn Marble joined the list in the final game that season, scoring 31 in a second-round NIT loss at Oregon.

Since then, Jarrod Uthoff, Peter Jok, Jordan Bohannon, Isaiah Moss, Luka Garza, Joe Wieskamp, Keegan Murray, Kris Murray and Rebraca have joined the club.

Those 11 have combined for 35 games of 30-plus points. Garza did it 13 times. Jok and Keegan Murray did it five times each.

Garza matched John Johnson for the most career games of 30-plus points in program history. Johnson had 13 in just two seasons (1968-69, 1969-70). Johnson did it a dozen times in 1969-70, when the Hawkeyes went 14-0 in Big Ten play and averaged a record 102.9 points that still stands.

Johnson averaged 27.9 points a game that season, and an astounding 31.8 points in Big Ten play. He scored at least 30 points in nine of the 14 Big Ten games, including a 49-point effort against Northwestern that remains Iowa’s single-game scoring record. Johnson also scored 38 and 37 points against Ohio State, 36 against Michigan State, 34 against Michigan, 33 against Minnesota and Indiana, 32 against Northwestern and 31 against Wisconsin that season.

Guard Fred Brown is third for most 30-plus games with 10, all coming in the 1970-71 season. He’s followed on the all-time list by Don Nelson (1959-60 to 1961-62) with eight, Sam Williams (1966-67 to 1967-68) with seven and Dave Gunther (1956-57 to 1958-59) with six.

Gatens recalls a conversation he had with one of his assistant coaches, Kirk Speraw, on the eve of his 30-point bookend performances.

“He told me, 'You don’t get too many opportunities like this, to get to play a ranked team at home late in the season,’ ” Gatens recalled. “Take advantage of it.’ I remember those words hit home. We were getting close to the end (of his career). I remember being really locked in to take advantage of the opportunity to knock off ranked teams late in the season.”

Gatens came into those two games with some momentum. He had made all five of his 3-point attempts in the second half of a 69-64 loss at Penn State three days before Indiana came to town.

“I had some confidence leading into the Indiana and Wisconsin games,” he said.

He actually got off to a tough start in the Indiana game. He missed six of eight shots in the first half, and made just one of four 3-pointers.

“Thanks for reminding me,” he said.

But former Hawkeye and nine-year NBA veteran Bobby Hansen, now radio color analyst on Iowa games, saw a flaw in Gatens’ shot release and offered him some advice at halftime. Gatens made all six of his 3-point attempts the second half, and eight of 10 shots overall.

“He just took it to another level,” Indiana Coach Tom Crean said.

Indiana had cut a 19-point deficit to 10, and had all the momentum, with 8 minutes to play. But Gatens changed that by making five straight 3-pointers the rest of the way, including a 25-footer over 6-9 Christian Watford with the shot clock about to expire.

Then came Wisconsin, when he scored 33 points against a team that came in leading the nation in scoring defense at 55.1 points a game. A team that also led the nation in 3-point defense at 26.4 percent. Gatens made 12 of 18 shots, including seven 3-pointers in 10 attempts.

“One of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen,” McCaffery said.

Gatens became the first Iowa player to reach the 30-point mark in back-to-back games since Adam Haluska scored 33 points against Indiana and 34 against Minnesota in 2007.

“I got into one of those grooves and it felt really good,” Gatens recalled.

Gatens made two free throws with 3.8 seconds remaining to seal the victory over the Badgers, and students stormed the court when it was over.

“It was a great crowd, a great atmosphere, awesome environment,” Gatens said. “A fun time as I was closing out my career.”

Gatens was never a high-volume shooter during his career. The 10 3-point attempts against Indiana and Wisconsin were career highs. So were his 18 field-goal attempts overall in both games.

“These days, it’s so much more normal for guys to shoot that many 3s,” Gatens said. “The Stephen Curry effect, I guess. Everyone is valuing the 3 more over the last 10 years. A lot of guys will take 20 3s in two games, but it was pretty rare back then.”

Iowa finished the 2011-12 season with an 18-17 record. It was the first and only winning season Gatens enjoyed. He never got to play in the NCAA Tournament, but did get a postseason appearance when the Hawkeyes made the NIT. He also got a mulligan on senior day.

Iowa lost to Northwestern, 70-66, on Senior Day at Carver-Hawkeye. But Iowa got to host an NIT game because Dayton’s arena hosted the NCAA First Four games. Iowa beat the Flyers in their first-round meeting, 84-75.

“It was kind of a fun way to go out,” Gatens said. “But I’d rather have been in the NCAA Tournament, I guarantee you.”

Iowa’s 30-point scorers under Coach Fran McCaffery

2011-12 - Matt Gatens, 30 vs. Indiana, Feb. 18; Gatens, 33 vs. Wisconsin, Feb. 23; Devyn Marble, 31 vs. Oregon (NIT), March 18.

2012-13 - Marble, 31 vs. Northern Iowa (Big Four Classic), Dec. 15.

2013-14 - Marble, 30 vs. Xavier (Battle for Atlantis), Nov. 28.

2015-16 - Jarrod Uthoff, 32 at Iowa State, Dec. 10.

2016-17 - Peter Jok, 30 vs. Seton Hall, Nov. 17; Jok, 42, vs. Memphis (Emerald Coast Classic), Nov. 26; Jok, 33 vs. Omaha, Dec. 3; Jok, 34 at Nebraska, Jan. 5; Jok, 35 vs. Indiana, Feb. 21.

2017-18 - Jordan Bohannon, 30 vs. UAB (Cayman Islands Classic), Nov. 22; Isaiah Moss, 32 at Minnesota, Feb. 21.

2019-20 - Luka Garza, 30 vs. Oral Roberts, Nov. 15; Garza, 44 at Michigan, Dec. 6; Garza, 34 vs. Penn State (Philadelphia, Pa.), Jan. 4; Garza, 33 vs. Michigan, Jan. 17; Joe Wieskamp, 30 vs. Nebraska, Feb 8; Garza, 38 at Indiana, Feb. 13.

2020-21 - Garza 41 vs. Southern, Nov. 27; Garza, 35 vs. Western Illinois, Dec. 3; Garza, 34 vs. Iowa State, Dec. 11; Garza, 30 vs. Gonzaga (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Dec. 19; Garza, 32 at Minnesota, Dec. 25; Garza, 33 vs. Minnesota, Jan. 10; Garza, 30 at Wisconsin, Feb. 18;
Garza, 36 vs. Oregon (NCAAs, Indianapolis, Ind.), March 22.

2021-22 - Keegan Murray, 35 vs. Utah State (Sioux Falls, S.D.), Dec.18; Murray, 35 vs. Maryland, Jan. 3; Jordan Bohannon, 30 at Maryland, Feb. 10; Murray, 30 at Maryland, Feb. 10; Murray, 37 vs. Nebraska, Feb. 13; Murray, 32 vs. Indiana, March 12.

2022-23 - Kris Murray, 31 vs. Georgia Tech (ACC/Big Ten Challenge), Nov. 29; Filip Rebraca, 30 vs. Southeast Missouri State, Dec. 17.