At the time of publishing, the first two rounds of the 2021 men’s NCAA tournament had already posted a record 12 upsets — one away from tying the record for the entire tournament.
That 12th upset, though, ended the college career of one of the game’s brightest players.
No. 7 seed Oregon knocked out No. 2 seed Iowa, 95-80, on Monday in what was Oregon’s first actual game of the tournament. The Ducks advanced by way of VCU’s COVID disqualification. But after Monday’s game, in which Luka Garza posted a stellar 36-point effort, the Iowa star was visibly emotional on the court as his college career ended far sooner than he anticipated.
Garza offered his reflection on that moment after the game.
"It's heartbreaking. It's so surreal. It hit me all at once that this is the last time I'll put on this jersey."
Luka Garza speaks from the heart on his final game as an Iowa Hawkeye. @brhoops x @marchmadnesspic.twitter.com/VWm3BLeQbc
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 22, 2021
Garza said:
“You know, it’s heartbreaking. It’s so surreal that it kind of just all hit me at once that this is the last time that I’ll put on this jersey. That hurts a lot. I just feel bad that I wasn’t able to lead this team to where it needs to go, and we did a lot of really, really good things this year, and it just hurts that we weren’t able to do it when it mattered most, and that’s something that’s going to haunt me forever.
“But I’ve been so blessed and so lucky to be able to play here at the University of Iowa, and it changed my life. I really truly — I did everything I could, and those guys in the locker room did everything they could, and we worked so hard.”
Given that this season does not count against eligibility for any player, Garza technically could return to Iowa if he wanted to do so. But clearly, the 22-year-old senior viewed Monday’s loss as his final game for the Hawkeyes.
What an effort, though.
[mm-video type=video id=01f1c0ah7tgz37hbep playlist_id=01f09p3bf720d8rg02 player_id=none image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01f1c0ah7tgz37hbep/01f1c0ah7tgz37hbep-8cba0e5a39c348322f9a24e49721c47a.jpg]