Here is the latest Mid-America sports news from The Associated Press

UNDATED (AP) — The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten in the habit the past couple years of plugging their biggest holes by trading for big-name bats that just happen to have had a whole lot of success against them. Two years ago it was Paul Goldschmidt, and this past offseason it was Nolen Arenado. Now, those two sluggers are set to anchor a much more dangerous lineup and support a strong cast of starters and one of the best bullpens in baseball as the Cardinals seek take aim at the Chicago Cubs and the rest of the NL Central.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Tournament always seems to put a premium on guard play, and that may be even more important during this most bizarre of tournaments. So here’s a look at other backcourt wizards looking to make their mark on March, highlighted by UConn star James Bouknight and Iowa floor leader Jordan Bohannon.

UNDATED (AP) — Iowa State athletic director Jamie Pollard anticipates a quick search to find a new men’s basketball coach after the firing of Steve Prohm. Pollard released a 10-minute video in which he discusses the reasons for letting Prohm go and the course forward. Iowa State was 2-22 overall and 0-18 in Big 12 play. It was the lowest win total since 1924-25 and the first winless conference season since 1936-37. Pollard also knocked down speculation that a donor or group of donors volunteered to pay Prohm’s $5 million buyout.

AMES, Iowa – In accordance with Big 12 Conference volleyball match interruption guidelines, the Oklahoma at Iowa State matches schedule for March 19-20 have been canceled and will not be made up.

Iowa State is exploring options for new matches for the upcoming weekend, and will make an announcement should matches be confirmed.

ABERDEEN, South Dakota –Northwest  Missouri State overcame an 11-point deficit with 3:01 to play and posted a 91-86 overtime victory over Northern State University to advance to the program’s fifth Elite Eight.

Junior Trevor Hudgins scored 27 of 29 points in the second half and overtime, and freshman Byron Alexander posted a career-high 21 points. Atlantic native Ryan Hawkins dropped in 19 points to go with 9 rebounds.

Hudgins hit a contested three with four seconds left to send the game to the extra session. Northern State ran into big foul trouble in overtime and the Bearcats took advantage.

The game was marred by 52 fouls and couple of extremely lengthy reviews. There were 11 lead changes in close battle throughout.

Hawkins also reached a personal milestone, surpassing 2,000 points for his career. He’s just the second player in school history to accomplish that feat, joining 2018 graduate Justin Pitts.

The Bearcats will now have a chance to defend their title from 2019 in the Elite Eight in Evansville, IN next week.

DES MOINES — The Iowa Print Sports Writers Association (IPSWA) announced the 2021 boys basketball all-state teams on Tuesday. The teams were selected by print sports writers in Iowa during a virtual meeting on Saturday, March 13.

Tucker DeVries, of Waukee, was selected as Mr. Iowa Basketball 2021 by the Iowa Print Sports Writers Association.

DeVries is a Drake University commit, where he’ll play for his father and Drake head coach Darian DeVries. He selected Drake over Creighton, Iowa State and Oregon.

On a Waukee Warriors team that won its first state title this year and featured three other Division I recruits, DeVries led scoring this season with 18.5 points per game while also averaging 6.6 rebounds per game and 5.6 assists per game. He ended his career with 1,092 points for the Warriors in 67 total games.

CLASS 4A

FIRST TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Tucker DeVries	Waukee	SR
Ryan Riggs	West Des Moines Dowling	SR
Michael Duax	Dubuque Hempstead	SR
Payton Sandford	Waukee	SR
Omaha Billew	Waukee	SO
Landon Wolf	Cedar Falls	SR
Josh Dix	Council Bluffs Lincoln	JR
Tamin Lipsey	Ames	JR

SECOND TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Trey Campbell	Cedar Falls	JR
Steven Kramer	Johnston	JR
Caleb Schlaak	Cedar Rapids Kennedy	SR
Jayden Houston	Davenport North	SR
Ty Walker	West Des Moines Valley	JR
Jaron Crews	Ankeny Centennial	SR
DaVares Whitaker	Sioux City East	JR
Trey Lewis	Johnston	JR

THIRD TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Amar Kuljuhovic	Waterloo West	SR
Eli Raridon	West Des Moines Valley	JR
Chase Courbat	Cedar Falls	SR
Armonniey Thomas	Marshalltown	JR
Chase Henderson	Des Moines Hoover	SO
Peter Moe	Iowa City West	JR
Reid Grant	Johnston	SR
Matt Riedl	West Des Moines Dowling	JR

CLASS 3A

FIRST TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Grant Nelson	Pella	SR
Emarion Ellis	Assumption Davenport	SR
Connor Drew	Ballard	SR
Luke Rankin	Dallas Center-Grimes	SR
Justin Recker	Monticello	SR
Keaton Kutcher	Mount Vernon	SR
Andrew Formanek	Clear Lake	SR
Ryan Blum	Glenwood	SR

SECOND TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Kieren Nichols	Knoxville	SR
Karter Petzenhauser	Spencer	JR
Cole Glasgow	Dallas Center-Grimes	JR
Ashton Hermann	Ballard	JR
Karl Miller	Pella	SR
Jake Layman	Sergeant Bluff-Luton	SR
Kyle Kelley	West Delaware	SR
Christian Withrow	Clear Creek Amana	SR

THIRD TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Dayton Davis	Fort Madison	JR
Colby Collison	Bondurant-Farrar	SO
Dylan Johnson	Western Dubuque	SR
Max Weaton	Fairfield	SO
Carson Toebe	Clear Lake	SO
Kaleb Booth	Carroll	JR
Brayson Laube	Marion	SO
Adam Mattes	Newton	JR

CLASS 2A

FIRST TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Jayden Mackie	Aplington-Parkersburg	JR
Cooper DeJean	OABCIG	SR
Karson Sharar	Iowa Falls-Alden	SR
Ty Van Essen	Western Christian	JR
Tanner Te Slaa	Boyden-Hull	JR
Camden Schroeder	East Sac County	SR
Marcus Kelderman	Boyden-Hull	SR
Lucas Lorenzen	Okoboji	JR

SECOND TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Zach Erwin	Camanche	JR
Raydden Grobe	AHSTW	JR
Carson Lienau	Jesup	JR
Brennan Holder	South Central Calhoun	SR
Kyler Mathias	Denver	SR
Grant Veenstra	Des Moines Christian	SR
Zach Lutmer	Central Lyon	SO
Padraig Gallagher	Beckman Catholic	SO

THIRD TEAM

Name	School	Grade
Brady Millikan	Pekin	SR
Adam Witty	Des Moines Christian	JR
Creighton Morisch	Spirit Lake	SR
Sid Schaaf	Treynor	SR
Carter Harmsen	Mid Prairie	SR
Bo Clausen	Ridge View

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Senior Luka Garza has become the first University of Iowa men’s basketball player to be voted first-team All-America by the Associated Press (AP) in consecutive seasons.

The AP announced its 2021 Men’s Basketball All-America teams on Tuesday, which included Garza for a second straight year. Garza received every vote to be the only unanimous selection by the 63-person media voting panel. Joining Garza on the first team are Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois, Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert, Jared Butler of Baylor, and Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham.

The Associated Press is one of four outlets used by the NCAA to determine its consensus All-America teams (AP, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association, and Sporting News). Garza was named to the first-team All-America squad by Sporting News last week with USBWA and the NABC expected to make their announcements in the coming weeks.

2021 LUKA GARZA HONORS

• Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of the Year
• Sporting News National Player of the Year
• USBWA District VI Player of the Year
• First Team All-America (Associated Press, Sporting News)
• Wooden Award National Ballot
• Senior CLASS Award Finalist
• Naismith Trophy Semifinalist
• Oscar Robertson Player of the Year Trophy Finalist
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award Finalist
• Lute Olson Award Midseason Top 30

IOWA CITY, Iowa – University of Iowa men’s basketball senior Luka Garza and junior Joe Wieskamp received all-district accolades on Tuesday.

Garza and Wieskamp were both selected to the 10-player United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-District VI team. Garza was also named the USBWA District VI Player of the Year for the second year in a row and earned a spot on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 7 First Team.

Garza was also named one of three finalists for the USBWA’s Oscar Robertson Trophy, which is awarded annually to the top collegiate basketball player. Other finalists include Gonzaga’s Corey Kispert and Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu.

Garza and Dosunmu are two of the five-player NABC District 7 First Team selections along with Purdue’s Trevion Williams, Indiana’s Trace Jackson-Davis, and Ohio State’s E.J. Liddell.

Garza is also a finalist for the Naismith Trophy, Wooden Award, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, Senior CLASS Award, and the Lute Olson Award.

Garza (6-foot-11, 265 pounds) has led the eighth-ranked Hawkeyes to 21 victories this season, including wins in eight of their last 10 contests. The Washington, D.C., native leads the nation in total points (687); player efficiency rating (35.84); 30-point games (7); field goals made (258); and 20-point games (19). Garza is seventh nationally in free throw makes (134) and attempts (188), and 10th in double-doubles (13).

The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year averaged 21.9 points per game during the 20-game conference schedule, becoming the third player since 1990 to lead the Big Ten in scoring in consecutive seasons (Michigan State’s Steve Smith and Evan Turner of Ohio State).

Garza broke the Iowa’s 32-year old scoring record held by Roy Marble on Feb. 21, 2021. His 2,246 points rank eighth-best in Big Ten history. In addition to ranking first in career scoring, Garza is tops at Iowa in conference scoring (1,399), total field goals made (847), field goal attempts (1,558), and 40-point games (2); second in rebounds (916) and 30-point games (12); fourth in double-doubles (34); fifth in blocked shots (153); sixth in free throw makes (439) and attempts (625); and 13th in 3-pointers made (113). He is the only men’s basketball player in Big Ten history to accumulate 2,200 points and 900 rebounds.

Wieskamp (6-foot-6, 212 pounds) ranks second on the team in points per game (14.7) and rebounds per contest (6.6). The Muscatine, Iowa, native ranks third in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made per game (2.38) and 10th in defensive rebounds per game (5.38). He led all players in 3-point accuracy, making 49.5 percent of his attempts (51-of-103) in Big Ten play. Wieskamp, who was a second-team all-conference honoree this season, has scored in double figures 25 times this season, including netting 20 or more points five times. He has made a season-high five 3-pointers six times this season, the most by a major conference player in 2020-21.

A Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Finalist, Wieskamp became the 50th player in program history to score 1,000 career points on Jan. 20, 2021. He is the first Hawkeye junior in school history to amass 1,250+ points, 550+ rebounds, 175+ 3-pointers, 100+ assists, and 75+ steals.

No. 2 seed Iowa (21-8) will open NCAA Tournament play on Saturday against 15th-seeded Grand Canyon (17-6). Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 5:25 p.m. (CT) at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.