By JOHN BOHNENKAMP

CHICAGO — Cooper Koch is playing his best at the end of his first full season playing at Iowa.

Koch scored a career-high 19 points in the Hawkeyes’ 75-64 win over Maryland in Wednesday’s second round of the Big Ten Tournament at the United Center.

It is a natural evolution for a player, coach Ben McCollum said after the game.

“Sometimes, it just takes time to acclimate,” he said. “And then we demand so much defensively. I’m pretty intense as a coach, so you kind of have to get used to that. He’s gotten used to it. He’s gone through all season and it’s been good for him.”

Koch is averaging 14.5 points in his last four games, almost double his season average of 7.7 points. His 3-point night in Iowa’s 71-68 loss to Michigan on March 3 is sandwiched by his 18-point game in the 71-69 loss at Penn State on February 28, his 18-point game in the 84-75 overtime loss at Nebraska in Sunday’s regular-season finale, and then this game. He was 18 of 32 from the field in those three games, including 16 of 27 in 3-pointers.

Koch said he is taking advantage of the openings as opponents continue to focus on Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz.

“I feel like I definitely could have done this at the start of the year, but I’m definitely getting more open looks now, because everybody just keeps on Bennett so much,” Koch said. “So it opens up more opportunities for me and other guys.”

Koch said confidence from his teammates has helped him.

“Nothing really changed,” he said. “I just kept doing the same stuff in the gym — keep working on my shot, keep instilling confidence in myself. That’s what my teammates and coaches do. They’re not going to knock me for any shot I take.”

“The same shots that he was missing, he’s making,” McCollum said. “He was bound to make them. There was one game where he missed a lot of them, but they were all back iron. He’s a good shooter. You just can’t shake him. You know, he can’t shake his confidence. You’ve got to kind of stick with him.”

Koch played in just 10 games last season before injuries sidelined him. He hasn’t missed a start in 32 games this season.

Koch, at 6-foot-8, is a difficult matchup for defenses.

“It really spaces the floor for us,” McCollum said. “I know people would always ask about ‘Are you worried about him not taking shots for a stretch (forward)?’ No, I’m not. He’ll make them. Just keep taking good shots. He’ll make them. We’ve seen him shoot, and you’ve seen kind of the result of that. It just takes time to acclimate yourself to the system, and we’re getting him there.”

Before this current run, Koch had a stretch where he made just 10 of 47 3-pointers.

“My teammates are just finding me when I’m open,” Koch said. “It was the same throughout the whole year. Now they’re just going in. It’s kind of fun to take on that role.”

Photo: Cooper Koch reacts after hitting a 3-pointer in Wednesday’s win over Maryland. (Stephen Mally/UI Athletics Communications)