Quick thoughts about a 81-69 win in Iowa:
How did this happen: The question that led to Thursday’s clash against Iowa No. 4 was simple: could the Hoosiers keep up with the nation’s most powerful attack? The Hawkeyes left the gate with 27 points in the first 10:26 of the game. And while Joe Wieskamp and Luka Garza filled out the statistics sheet, it looked like the Hawkeyes were on their way to a half of 50 points. But Iowa’s attack broke out in the final nine minutes of the first half, allowing Indiana to maintain an attack distance. Despite a below average shooting performance (46 eFG%), the Hoosiers only lost 37-31. A big reason for that was Iowa’s terrible 3-point shot (4 of 13), Indiana making just five turns and a reasonable pace that kept the game mostly in midfield (32 possessions).
The Iowa offense never found support in the second half. And as the Hawkeyes failed to score in the half court and the 3s hit the rim, Indiana gained confidence on both ends of the court. The Hoosiers took the lead with 57-55 in a jumper Al Durham Jr. with 6:58 to play. With the time limit for children under four, IU was in a 14-1 race and led 67-56. Iowa’s second-half goal drought lasted more than 11 minutes, with the Hoosiers taking their second away win in the Big Ten game. Most importantly, it was a victory over one of the top five teams away from home that will provide a significant boost to the resumption of the NCAA tournament.
Featured Performer: Despite struggling with problems for most of the game, Trayce Jackson-Davis finished with the team’s best score, 23 points out of 9 out of 14 shots. Rob Phinisee (18 points), Armaan Franklin (11 points) and Al Durham Jr. (14 points) also ended in double digits.
Stands that stand out: Iowa hit 9 of 34 on the field in the second half, including just 1 of 10 behind the 3-point line. Indiana made only eight turnovers in the win.
Final individual UI statistics:
Final statistics without pace:
(Photo credit: IU Athletics)
Filed Under: Iowa Hawkeyes