Iowa senior guard Matt Gatens has been on a shooting tear of late and Monday, the Big Ten Conference recognized him for his accomplishments.
Gatens was named co-Big Ten Player of the Week, along with Purdue's Robbie Hummel, after averaging 27.5 points per game in the Hawkeyes' two games last week.
The senior from Iowa City, Iowa, scored 33 points in leading Iowa to an upset win over No. 15 Wisconsin last week and then poured in 22 more points against Illinois on Sunday. Over Gatens' last three games, he has scored 85 points.
The 33 points against Wisconsin pushed Gatens into ninth on Iowa's all-time scoring list. Gatens went 7-of-10 from 3-point range in two straight games before making 5-of-6 Sunday night against Illinois. That made him 12-of-16 from 3-point range in his last two games and 19-of-26 in his last three games.
Gatens now has 228 made 3-pointers in his career at Iowa, which surpasses Chris Kingsbury for second all-time at the university. Only Jeff Horner has more made 3-pointers at Iowa than Gatens.
The Big Ten honor was the first of Gatens' impressive career. The last Hawkeye to earn Big Ten Player of the Week honors was Jake Kelly in 2009.
The Hawkeyes (15-14, 7-9) will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska, on Wednesday to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Bob Devaney Sports Complex. Tip-off is set for 8:05 p.m.
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