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27 U niversity of Iowa junior Joe Wieskamp went into the season knowing he needed to expand his skills in order to take his game to another level. Last season, Wieskamp averaged 14 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He has increased his production this season, averaging 15 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest. But it has not been easy against Big Ten competition — the deepest and most competitive league in the country. "Teams scout us and I know they are going to be up in my space," said Wieskamp. "My ability to shot-fake and put the ball on the floor has opened things up. Shooting with a hand in my face is something I struggled with last year and I worked on in the off season. I think going through that, and learning from it, helped me this year." Wieskamp's numbers exploded last month, shooting at a high percentage from long distance, cleaning the defensive glass and improving his defense. During Iowa's four-game win streak in February, Wieskamp shot 64 percent (16-of-25) from 3-point range and averaged 18.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week on Feb. 15 aer Iowa wins over Rutgers and Michigan State. Head coach Fran McCaffery says Wieskamp improves with every practice. "Joe is a terrific player and he keeps growing," McCaffery said. "You see it in his confidence and his physicality. He's making big shot aer big shot. His defense has taken a huge step. He's making steals and is a phenomenal rebounder." Of Wieskamp's 6.6 rebounds per game, 5.4 are defensive, limiting second chance opportunities for opponents. He recorded seven or more defensive rebounds in seven of nine contests, including six straight over a one month stretch (Jan. 21 to Feb. 21). e native of Muscatine, Iowa, is the second Hawkeye (Peter Jok, 2017) in five years to be a Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award Finalist. He has scored in double figures 22 times this season and reached 1,000 career points on Jan. 20, 2021. Wieskamp is the first Hawkeye junior in school history to amass more than 1,200 points, 500 rebounds, 175 3-pointers, 100 assists and 75 steals. "My shot is feeling good right now," said Wieskamp. "I'm playing aggressively and with a lot of confidence. Coach is running a lot of sets for me and my teammates are finding me at the right times." Entering the postseason, the Hawkeyes have won 20 games and are ranked fih nationally, their highest ranking the first week of March since a No. 5 ranking in 1956. "I feel like we can make a deep run in March with the way we are playing right now," Wieskamp said. "We're going to score, but we need to continue to fight defensively." MARCH SCHEDULE March 12-14 at Big Ten Tournament March 19-31 at NCAA Tournament