Keegan Murray Is 3rd Consensus 1st Team All-American in 3 Seasons for Iowa Hawkeyes

How lucky are we? That was my first thought as I reflected on these two guys and how much fun they've been to watch in an Iowa uniform. Thankfully Keegan Murray is still a Hawkeye, leading 26-9 Iowa into today's opening round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

This morning, Keegan Murray was named a first team All-America by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). For Murray, that's a clincher. That designation has officially made him a Consensus First Team All-American because he had previously been named a first-team All-America by the Associated Press and Sporting News. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named him to the second team.

Murray, a Cedar Rapids native, is averaging 23.6 points per game this season. That's number one in the nation for players from a major conference.

Alongside Murray, the USBWA first team included players that have appeared with him on several other 'best of the season' lists: Ochai Agbaji of Kansas, Kofi Cockburn of Illinois, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis, and Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky.

Former Hawkeye Luka Garza was named a Consensus First Team All-American in both 2020 and 2021, making this the third straight season an Iowa player has been chosen among the very best, the elite, of Division I men's college basketball.

Prior to Garza's selection in 2020, Iowa's last Consensus All-American was Charles Darling in 1952. Murray Wier, in 1948, is the only other player to receive the distinction in the history of the Iowa program.

Last month, the jerseys of Roy Marble, Chuck Darling, Murray Wier, and Luke Garza were officially retired at Carver-Hawkeye Arena during a big home win against Michigan State.

The Iowa women's basketball team has also had an incredible season. They will play in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Friday afternoon inside sold-out Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Iowa is 23-7 on the season, led by the nation's leader in scoring (27.4 per game) and assists (7.9 per game), Caitlin Clark.

Already named the Big Ten Player of the Year, Clark continues to pile up All-America first-team accolades. The sophomore received the honor from the Associated Press Wednesday afternoon and the USBWA this morning.

Often the beneficiary of Clark assists, Iowa senior center Monika Czinano was named honorable mention All-America by the Associated Press on Wednesday. Czinano, who's announced she will return to Iowa next season, is averaging 21.1 points per game and leads the nation in field goal percentage at 67.8 percent.

Great players and two Big Ten Tournament Championships in two weeks. Like I said at the top, how lucky are we? Now, here's to deep runs in both NCAA Tournaments. Oh, and Keegan, any chance we can talk you into one more year?