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

ROSEMONT, Ill. (AP) — Iowa center Luka Garza is the Big Ten Player of the Year while Wisconsin’s Greg Gard took Coach of the Year honors. Garza, Maryland’s Jalen Smith, Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and Penn State’s Lamar Stevens were first-team, all-conference picks by both the media and coaches. Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu was chosen by the media and Maryland’s Anthony Cowan Jr. was selected by the coaches. Gard led Wisconsin to a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship, along with Maryland and Michigan State. Michigan State’s Xavier Tillman was selected Defensive Player of the Year. Maryland’s Aaron Wiggins took Sixth Man of the Year honors and Illinois’ Kofi Cockburn was chosen Freshman of the Year.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha women’s basketball coach Brittany Lange has been fired after seven seasons. Athletic director Trev Alberts announced the move after the Mavericks finished 7-23 overall and 2-14 and in eighth place in the nine-team Summit League. Lange became the Mavericks’ head coach prior to the 2013-14 and guided the program to a record of 80-124 overall and 31-77 in the Summit League. The team’s best finish came in 2016-17 when it finished 16-15 and fifth in the Summit.

UNDATED (AP) — As conference tournaments get into full swing ahead of Selection Sunday, here is a look at teams teetering on the NCAA Tournament bubble. Among them are UCLA, Texas and a handful of teams from the Atlantic 10, which is fighting to get more than just Dayton into the dance.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Marcus Zegarowski probably will miss seventh-ranked Creighton’s first game in the Big East Tournament because of an injury to his right knee. The athletic department announced the sophomore guard has a meniscus injury and listed him as doubtful for the Bluejays’ game Thursday against Georgetown or St. John’s. Zegarowski was hurt late in the Bluejays’ win over Seton Hall on Saturday. He left the arena on crutches and had a noticeable limp at practice Monday. Creighton (24-7) is the top seed in the conference tournament. Zegarowski averages 16.1 points per game and was named to the All-Big East second team.

UNDATED (AP) — Kansas maintained its grip on the No. 1 ranking in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll. The Jayhawks received all 65 first-place votes to remain at the top for a third straight week. The past two weeks they have been the unanimous choice ahead of Gonzaga and Dayton. Florida State climbed three spots to No. 4 after winning its first Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season title. This is FSU’s highest ranking since sitting at No. 2 in December 1972. West Virginia and Butler were the week’s new additions. Michigan and Penn State fell out of the poll.

UNDATED (AP) — The unpredictability of the college basketball season has made for a murky race for national player of the year honors. There’s no one like Duke’s Zion Williamson, who was a runaway choice as The Associated Press national player of the year. Now there’s a top tier of worthy candidates. The list includes Kansas point guard Devon Dotson as the floor leader for the No. 1-ranked Jayhawks. Dayton’s Obi Toppin has been dominant in the Atlantic 10. The list also includes Iowa’s Luka Garza, Marquette’s Markus Howard, Seton Hall’s Myles Powell and Oregon’s Payton Pritchard.

UNDATED (AP) — A Missouri judge has overturned the 1997 burglary and assault convictions of a man whose case has been championed by WNBA star Maya Moore. Jonathon Irons is a family friend of Moore and she has helped draw attention to his attorneys’ efforts to get the case another look. A judge agreed there is enough evidence to prove he was wrongfully convicted in the non-fatal shooting of a homeowner in the St. Louis area. He could be released in a month unless prosecutors decide to retry him. Moore says Irons was “over the moon” when she and others told him the good news.

Class 2A Quarterfinal

9:30 a.m.—#4 Camanche (21-3) vs. #5 Monticello (21-2)

Class 3A Quarterfinals

11:15 a.m.—#1 Norwalk (21-3) vs. #8 Harlan (18-6)

1:00 p.m.—#4 Center Point-Urbana (18-6) vs. #5 Ballard (18-6)

2:45 p.m.—#2 Mount Vernon (22-2) vs. #7 Clear Creek-Amana (19-5)

4:30 p.m.—#3 Pella (19-5) vs. #6 Sergeant Bluff-Luton (14-10)

Class 4A Quarterfinals

6:30 p.m.—#4 Waukee (21-2) vs. #5 North Scott, Eldridge (22-1)

8:15 p.m.—#1 Ankeny Centennial (23-1) vs. #8 Davenport, North (16-8)

Class 1A Quarterfinals

Montezuma 75, Martensdale-St. Marys 50 | BOX SCORE

Wapsie Valley 49, Lake Mills 45 | BOX SCORE

Bishop Garrigan, Algona 55, Springville 52 | BOX SCORE

West Fork, Sheffield 55, St. Mary’s, Remsen 53 | BOX SCORE

Class 2A Quarterfinals

North Linn, Troy Mills 56, West Sioux, Hawarden | BOX SCORE

Treynor 69, Pella Christian 53 | BOX SCORE

Boyden-Hull 57, Woodward-Granger 26 | BOX SCORE

IRVING, Texas – Iowa State women’s basketball sophomore Ashley Joens was one of three unanimous selections to the All-Big 12 First-Team, while Kristin Scott earned honorable mention honors and Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw garnered a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

Joens had a banner season for the Cyclones, scoring 20.5 points, 10.5 rebounds on the season. She is the only play in the country averaging over 20.0 points and over 10.0 rebounds. The Iowa City, Iowa native s also won six Big 12 Player of the Week honors, while no other league player won more than two. Joens is soaring currently ranks fifth in scoring with 594 points on the year and her 317 rebounds rank third. Joens also holds the school record with 187 makes at the charity stripe.

“Ash has had a fantastic season,” said head coach Bill Fennelly. “She certainly played like a First-Team All-Big 12 member all year. I am so proud of the step she has made from her freshman year to now. I know she will continue to work hard to get even better moving forward.”

Scott earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors after averaging 14.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and connecting on 40 triples. The Kasson, Minn., native, averaged 15.3 points, 6.9 rebounds during Big 12 action. She scored in double figures in 13 of her 15 Big 12 games.

“Kristin was never completely healthy all season but she impacted our team in a big way,” Fennelly said. “She put up great numbers when she could play and showed how talented she is. I am happy that the coaches in the Big 12 recognized that ability. We all look forward to a big senior year from Kristin.”

Maggie Espenmiller-McGraw was named to the All-Freshman Team. The Indianola, Iowa native started 21 games for Iowa State this season and averaged 30 minutes per game. Espenmiller-McGraw averaged 9.1 points, 2.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in Big 12 play.

“Maggie was a big part of our team this season as a freshman,” Fennelly said.  “We asked her to do a lot and she accepted every challenge. This is great recognition for her as she starts her Iowa State career.”

IOWA CITY, Iowa — University of Iowa standout center Luka Garza has been voted the Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of the Year by the league head coaches and selected media panel, the Big Ten Conference announced on Monday.

Garza was also a unanimous first-team selection by both the media and coaches. Sophomore Joe Wieskamp was a third-team all-conference honoree, while CJ Fredrick was selected to the five-player All-Freshman Team. Redshirt sophomore Connor McCaffery is the recipient of Iowa’s Big Ten Men’s Basketball Sportsmanship Award.

Garza becomes the first Hawkeye to earn the prestigious honor since the award was introduced by the Big Ten Conference in 1985. He is the fourth Hawkeye in program history and first since 1952 to be named, essentially, Big Ten MVP. Murray Wier (1948), Chuck Darling (1952), and Sam Williams (1968) were previous recipients of the Big Ten/Chicago Tribune MVP Award, which was presented prior to 1985.

Head Coach Fran McCaffery has coached a first-team All-Big Ten honoree five of the last seven seasons, the most over a seven-year span since 1956-62. Garza joins Devyn Marble (2014), Aaron White (2015), Jarrod Uthoff (2016), and Peter Jok (2017) as first team selections.

Garza is a finalist for five national awards: Naismith Trophy, Oscar Robertson Trophy, Wooden Award, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, and the Lute Olson Award.

Garza (6-foot-11, 260 pounds) ranks second nationally with 12 20-point/10-rebound performances, 20-point games (25) and field goals made (287); third in points per 40 minutes played (29.9), fifth in scoring (23.9), 10th in 30-point games (5), 19th in double-doubles (15) and offensive rebounds per game (3.58), and 34th in rebounding (9.8). His 15 double-doubles are third most in a single-season by a Hawkeye in three decades and the most since 2002 (Reggie Evans, 18). Garza is averaging 26.7 points and 11.1 rebounds in 12 games against AP ranked opponents, including recording 11 straight 20-point performances.

Garza finished the 20-game conference schedule averaging 26.2 points per game to become Iowa’s first scoring leader in Big Ten games only since Adam Haluska (21.3 ppg) in 2007. Garza is the first player to average at least 26 points in Big Ten play since Purdue’s Glenn Robinson in 1994 (31.1 ppg).

Garza is Iowa’s single-season scoring record holder with 740 points, breaking the program’s 50-year old record previously set by John Johnson in 1970. Garza has scored 20 points or more in a school-record 16 straight Big Ten games, the longest streak by any player in the Big Ten since Ohio State’s Dennis Hopson 16 in 1987. He is the fourth player nationally since 2007 to amass 700+ points, 300+ rebounds, 50+ blocks, and 35+ 3-pointers in a season (Frank Kaminsky, 2015; Michael Beasley, 2008; Kevin Durant, 2007).

Garza has scored 25 points or more 13 times this season, including the last three contests. The native of Washington, D.C., is the only Big Ten player to register seven 25-point/10-rebound performances in the same season in more than 17 years. He has produced the two highest point totals in a game by a Big Ten player this season (44 at Michigan; 38 at Indiana).

The two best Big Ten basketball players in 2020 reside in Iowa City: Garza (Big Ten Men’s Basketball Player of the Year) and Kathleen Doyle (Big Ten Women’s Basketball Player of the Year).

Wieskamp (6-foot-6, 210 pounds) ranks second on the team in points per game (14.0) and rebounds (6.1), and is tied for 13th in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made per contest (1.7). The native of Muscatine, Iowa, ranks first in the Big Ten in free throw accuracy (.856) and has made his last 22 straight free throw attempts dating back to Feb. 13. One of 10 finalists for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, Wieskamp has posted three double-doubles, led the team in steals 10 times, and scored 15 points or more 13 times this season. Wieskamp posted career highs this season in scoring (30 vs. Nebraska), rebounds (11 vs. Maryland), assists (4 vs. Rutgers), blocked shots (2 vs. Minnesota), and free throws made (9 vs. Michigan).

Fredrick (6-foot-3, 195 pounds) is the ninth Hawkeye to be voted to the five-player All-Freshman Team since the honor was first introduced in 2003. Fredrick, a Cincinnati native, is the seventh rookie to be recognized on the All-Freshman Team under Fran McCaffery and the fourth in four years (Jordan Bohannon and Tyler Cook in 2017; Joe Wieskamp in 2019).

Despite missing a handful of games due to injury, Fredrick ranked third on the team in scoring (10.2 ppg) and third in assists (2.78 apg), and first among all Big Ten players in 3-point accuracy (.461, 47-of-102) and 10th in 3-pointers made per game (1.9). His 3-point field goal percentage currently ranks first in Iowa’s record books for an Iowa freshman in a single-season, while his 47 triples is tied for fourth most. The redshirt freshman was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Jan. 20, after matching a season high with 21 points in a home win over No. 19 Michigan. He was voted to the Las Vegas Invitational All-Tournament Team after averaging 13 points per game on 60 percent shooting (9-of-15) and 3.5 assists per game against No. 12 Texas Tech and San Diego State.

McCaffery, a student-athlete in both basketball and baseball, leads the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.59). He is the only player in the country with more than 120 assists and fewer than 30 turnovers, as well as the only player nationally to average at least six points, four rebounds, four assists, and less than one turnover per game. The Iowa City native has posted 48 assists and only seven turnovers over the last 10 games (6.85 ratio). He averages 6.2 points per game, a team-best 4.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. McCaffery also excels in the classroom as a finance major, being voted to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team last month.

Joining Garza on the first team, by both coaches and media, were Lamar Stevens (Penn State), Cassius Winston (Michigan State), and Jalen Smith (Maryland); Maryland’s Anthony Cowan was a first team honoree by the coaches, while Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois was a first team selection by the media. Maryland’s Aaron Wiggins was named Sixth Man of the Year by the coaches. The All-Defensive Team consisted of Jalen Smith of Maryland, Minnesota’s Daniel Oturu, Nojel Eastern of Purdue, Penn State’s Jamari Wheeler, and Xavier Tillman of Michigan State.

Both the media and coaches named Greg Gard of Wisconsin as Coach of the Year. The coaches selected Michigan State center Xavier Tillman as Defensive Player of the Year. Both groups named Kofi Cockburn of Illinois as Freshman of the Year.

No. 18 Iowa (20-11, 11-9) will open Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday against Minnesota/Northwestern. Tipoff is scheduled for approximately 1:30 p.m. (CT) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.