Indiana recorded its tenth win of the season and its fifth win in the Big Ten play on Sunday afternoon at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Fueled by strong games by Race Thompson and Trayce Jackson-Davis, solid play by their freshmen and late pitches by Rob Phinisee and Armaan Franklin, the Hoosiers completed a sweep of the season with a 67-65 victory over Iowa.
The win, Indiana’s third to fall to quad 1 in the NCAA NET standings, broke a two game losing streak. Here are five lessons from the victory over the Hawkeyes:
• Indiana closes Iowa again: For the second time this season, Indiana’s defense has blocked the country’s most efficient attack.
In Iowa City, Indiana limited the Hawkeyes to just 1.01 points for possession in an 81-69 victory. On Sunday afternoon, the Hoosiers were even better at holding Iowa with just 0.957 points for possession in a 67-65 victory. The points for possession and the 65 points were the low points of the season for the Hawkeyes.
Indiana held Luka Garza, who stayed on the bench for much of the first half with two fouls, just 6 of 14 field shots. Garza did not get any offensive rebound.
“You really need to give him a different look,” said Race Thompson of the IU plan against Garza. “He’s a great player, so I mean you really need to focus on giving him different looks and not really letting him feel you, and really focusing on trying not to let him catch the ball in the first place.”
Jordan Bohannon managed to get three points out of 3, but it was only 3 out of 9 on the field. The Iowa bench combined 0-12 shots on the field and scored just five points.
• After fighting all day, Phinisee and Franklin go straight up the straight: It was a quiet afternoon for Rob Phinisee and Armaan Franklin until the final two minutes.
Phinisee made a comeback in a bad post feed at 3:34 and Iowa tied the game at 57 in possession of the next ball. Until he hit a 3 point clutch with 1:39 to play, Phinisee was 0-of-7 on the field and was goalless.
“He persisted, he didn’t have his best presentation, he didn’t have his best week,” said Archie Miller. “But I thought he had a good game.”
Franklin did not make his first field goal until the 5:05 mark of the second half, but Indiana put the ball in his hands with the game tied at 65 with less than 30 seconds to finish. Franklin rewarded that confidence in him by handing a dagger with less than two seconds to play to lead the Hoosiers to a 2-point victory.
“They believe us, you know; we’re going to hit the big target, ”said Franklin. “So, it wasn’t really a matter of trust. You have to go there and keep shooting because everyone has confidence in you and they will give you the ball at those times. “
• Hoosiers turn Iowa gains into goal opportunities and win second-point battle: Iowa entered Sunday’s game with the Big Ten’s best turnover percentage at 13.2.
Indiana forced Iowa to 11 turnovers for a turnover percentage of 16.2, the third highest mark of the season for the Hawkeyes. Most importantly, Indiana scored 17 points in the Iowa comeback. Iowa scored just five points in nine Indiana turns.
Indiana also picked up 15 offensive rebounds and scored 11 second chance points, compared with just six offensive rebounds and six second chance points for Iowa.
“The 11 twists that led to 17 points were problematic,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery. “And 15 offensive rebounds. Our defense was good, but they got a lot of them back. “
• Thompson offers a strong offensive performance to accompany the star defense in Garza: In addition to his strong defensive effort against national player of the year, Luka Garza, Race Thompson made another scoring game after scoring 18 points in Tuesday’s loss to Illinois.
Thompson’s 15 points were second in the team for Trayce Jackson-Davis (18 points) and he had 5 out of 10 on the field and 5 out of 7 on the free-throw line.
The Minnesota native also made his third game of the season with four blocks and is now fourth in the conference, with a percentage of 6.06 blocks against opponents of the conference. Only Myles Johnson, Liam Robbins and Jackson-Davis have a better blocking percentage than Thompson in Big Ten games.
“He does everything for us,” explained Miller. “The fact that he is playing well for me now gives us great confidence that he has become a true leader. Of any player I’ve been with, I’m not sure if I’ve been with a guy who has evolved the most since the first day he entered campus until today. Not even as a player, as a person. He really grew up, matured, became a leader. He does everything for us and says nothing about it. “
• The bank provides a large increase at the end of the first half: Iowa seemed on track to open the game by building a double-digit lead more than once in the first half.
After the Hawkeyes led 27-18 in a 3-point Joe Wieskamp with 4:22 to play in the first half, Anthony Leal and Khristian Lander helped to change the direction of the game.
Leal made a pair of 3 points in the final 3:08 of the break and Lander also made a 3 point and took a steal that led to a dunk by Trayce Jackson-Davis to help the Hoosiers claim a 33-31 lead in the break.
Each of Indiana’s four freshmen contributed somehow statistically, as Jordan Geronimo scored six points and Trey Galloway hit a big basket of 3 in the second half.
“Supports for young people,” said Thompson. “They bring it to practice every day. Even when they weren’t getting the minutes they wanted, they brought it in every day, and that’s just to show the work they put in day after day. “
Filed Under: Iowa Hawkeyes