Iowa’s Keegan Murray and Caitlin Clark are National Player of the Year Finalists

Though both Iowa basketball programs took early exits from their respective appearances in the NCAA Tournament, their best players will still be awarded for their accomplishments during the 2021-2022 season.

Keegan Murray and Caitlin Clark are among three others on each side to be named Finalists for the 2022 Naismith Trophy for National Player of the Year Award on the men's and women's sides.

Murray, who is expected to be a top 10 pick in this year's NBA Draft, was nominated after a stellar season averaging 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for the Hawkeyes. He gained a huge boost of momentum in his candidacy towards the end of the season, leading Iowa to a Big Ten Tournament Championship and scoring 103 points and hauling in 36 rebounds over the four tournament games.

Should Murray win the award, the Hawkeyes will have back-to-back National Players of the Year, as Luka Garza won the award for the 2020-2021 season. That would be the first time a school had back-to-back winners since Duke's Shane Battier and Jay Williams did it in 2001 and 2002.

He's joined by senior guard from Kansas Ochai Agbaji, Wisconsin sophomore guard Johnny Davis, and Kentucky’s Oscar Tshiebwe, a junior forward, as finalists.

These are the other players' averages per game:

Agbaji: 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 40% three-point percentage

Davis: 19.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals

Tshiebwe: 17.1 points, 15.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 60.6 field goal percentage

Clark stormed onto the national scene this season with her incredible shot-making abilities and consistent, ridiculous stat lines, while also leading the Hawkeyes to a Big Ten Title. This year, she put up 27 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists while also snagging 1.5 steals per contest.

She was also pivotal in the women's program at Iowa having it's first, second, and third sell-out games at home since 1988. All came this season.

The women’s finalists include South Carolina junior forward Aliyah Boston, Stanford’s junior guard Haley Jones, and senior forward from Baylor NaLyssa Smith.

These are the other players' averages per game:

Boston: 16.4 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.6 blocks

Jones: 12.6 points, 7.6 rebounds

Smith: 22.1 points, 11.5 rebounds

Iowa is the lone school in the country to have finalists for both awards. Both Murray and Clark are originally from the Hawkeye State as well.