Connor McCaffery, Kris Murray, Filip Rebraca: Hawkeyes’ 3-headed MVP

IOWA CITY — A considerable core of the Iowa men’s basketball team that’s making its final appearance as Hawkeye players in Carver-Hawkeye Arena Sunday.

The 12:45 p.m. Seniors Day ceremony before the 1 p.m. game will send off Connor McCaffery and Filip Rebraca. Kris Murray won’t be part of it as a junior, but will be off to pursue his NBA ambitions shortly after this season ends.

Iowa is a win over Nebraska from a tie of second place in the Big Ten final standings. That’s a good bit higher than the seventh place projected for them by a poll of media people in October.

McCaffery will play in his 164th game for the Hawkeyes Sunday. He’s had two hip surgeries, and dealt with injuries to other parts of his body over the years. He has also faced fans of Iowa’s and its opponents questioning if he were a Big Ten player, if he played for Iowa only because he was the son of coach Fran McCaffery.

Those people were muted some time ago. You could make an argument for McCaffery as his team’s MVP this season for all the things he has done that translate to winning. Many can’t be quantified statistically, but one that certainly can is this:

McCaffery has a team-high 104 assists and just 26 turnovers. That’s exactly a 4-to-1 ratio, which easily leads the nation. That covers well over 4,000 players.

In fact, McCaffery’s career assist-to-turnover ratio is second-best in NCAA history. Iowa’s team being third in the nation in that ratio despite a fast-paced offense is a difference-maker.

McCaffery and Rebraca utilized the extra season available to them because of the NCAA’s waiver for the 2020-21 COVID-19 season.

“Playing in front of 15,000 people really never gets old,” McCaffery said. “Who, realistically, wants to leave college early if you had a chance to continue playing basketball without really doing a whole lot of school? … We already graduated.”

Rebraca has been so good this season. You could also argue for him as the team’s MVP.

Playing the role of a somewhat-undersized center for two years here, he blossomed this season. He went from 5.8 points last season to 14.0 this one, increased his rebounding to 7.6 per game, and has over two assists per game.

He was overmatched at times last season against the Big Ten’s best big men. Not this year. He has scored in double figures in all but two of Iowa’s 19 conference games. In league play, he is fourth in field goal percentage.

“I found out a lot about myself last year,” Rebraca said. “It tested me at times. I worried if I made the right decision. I stuck through it. I have no regrets. I made the right choice to come here and I’m glad I did.”

Rebraca has shown a collection of effective post moves this season. He has been the rare big player who can effectively play 35 to 40 minutes when asked.

“He came here with a desire to prove that he could play at this level,” Fran McCaffery said, “and he certainly has done that. I think he's an all-league player.”

Murray could have hooked onto an NBA team last year. He went through the pre-draft process, then chose to return to Iowa for another season.

Good choice. He’s in the first round of every NBA mock draft I’ve seen. Of all players from Power Five conferences, he is second in scoring at 20.5 points per game. His brother, Keegan, set a high standard here last season. Kris picked it up and carried it.

Given that Murray will be a first-team All-Big Ten selection, you certainly could claim he’s the Hawkeyes’ MVP. He leads the Hawkeyes in minutes, rebounding and 3-pointers.

He has shot almost 50 percent, is tied with Rebraca for the team-high in blocked shots, has been a finisher in transition, and commits just 2.2 fouls per game despite playing an average of 34.6 minutes.

Murray had 26 points in both of the Hawkeyes’ last two games, memorable wins over Michigan State and Indiana.

“I think he’s risen to the challenge,” Connor McCaffery said. “I think there’s so much pressure that’s put on him by so many different people.”

This team wasn’t supposed to finish in second place in one of the best basketball conferences in America. With three MVPs, though, it actually was set up to succeed.

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