Iowa’s Kris Murray has lived up to expectations, and then some

IOWA CITY — Is Kris Murray taken for granted?

Sunday, Murray had 28 points, 14 rebounds, three steals, two assists and two blocked shots for Iowa in its 68-56 men’s basketball win at Minnesota. That’s a stat line that would have gotten big headlines here in the not-so-distant past.

But then came National Player of the Year Luka Garza and first-team All-American/NBA lottery pick Keegan Murray, and a 28-14 was no longer an extreme rarity in these parts.

Junior forward Kris Murray has hit 30 points four times and averages 22 in Big Ten play. So Sunday’s 28-14 from him just kind of blended into the rest of Monday morning’s sports page.

But here’s the thing: Murray is having a superb season. Iowa wouldn’t have won eight of its last 11 games without him. It wouldn’t be favored to earn an NCAA tournament bid without him. It wouldn’t be unbeaten in its six 2023 home games without him.

The Hawkeyes were 7-7 through 14 Big Ten games last year on the way to 12-8. They’re 8-6 this season, and will be a big favorite to beat Ohio State at home Thursday night to get to 9-6.

Murray was Iowa’s sixth man last year. He was the team’s fourth-leading scorer at 9.7 points per game. With brother Keegan off to Sacramento and Kris staying put after going through the NBA pre-draft process, this became Kris’ season. For the better or worse.

The answer has been “For the better.” Is he happy with how things have gone so far?

“I am, honestly,” Murray said Tuesday. “There was obviously pressure, especially at the beginning of the season, just to live up to expectations.”

Murray was voted a preseason All-Big Ten player by league media, who saw enough of him last season to expect him to get bigger shoulders, figuratively.

“Honestly,” he said, “I just wanted to win. And I would do anything to help this team win. That’s honestly the biggest reason I came back, just to try to help this team win games and help take it to a different level than when I came here, leave the program in a better place.”

It will be hard to top the Hawkeyes’ 12-8 Big Ten mark of last year, and harder to duplicate last year’s conference-tournament championship. But it looks a whole lot easier now than when Iowa lost its first three league games this season.

“Winning eight of 11 games is obviously really good in the Big Ten,” Murray said, “especially with how tough it is and how balanced it is this year. As a team, I think we’ve come a long way since we started 0-3 in the conference.

“We’re not playing as tight as we were. I think we’re playing with more confidence on both sides of the ball, especially the defensive end.”

Murray hasn’t seen his brother since mid-August. Friday night, Keegan plays in the Jordan Rising Stars Game, part of NBA All-Star Weekend in Salt Lake City. Then he’ll fly to Chicago to see the Hawkeyes play at Northwestern Sunday.

Keegan will see something familiar. A Murray is leading the Hawkeyes in February, with uncommonly good statistics we’ve come to expect.

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