| Hawk central
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Armaan Franklin of Indiana hit a jump jump over Joe Wieskamp of Iowa with 1.8 seconds remaining on Sunday to secure a 67-65 victory at Assembly Hall.
It was the fourth defeat in five games for the No. 8 Hawkeyes, who continue to struggle to close wins. Franklin had only made one of his previous nine shots in the game, but he had enough space to give the Hoosiers a sweep in Iowa.
Iowa only managed to muster a dose of half-court desperation when the final horn sounded.
The Hawkeyes were great at the beginning of each semester, but each time the Hoosiers (10-8, 5-6 Big Ten Conference) overcame deficits.
Iowa (13-6, 7-5) scored 18 points each from Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp, but made only a 2 out of 10 points out of 3 in the second half. The players at the Hawkeye bank also did not strike.
Keegan Murray scored 10 points before dropping out, replacing injured guard CJ Fredrick in the starting lineup for the third time.
Here’s what we learned:
Indiana returns to the game while Hawkeye beginners
The Hawkeyes were active early on both ends of the court, building a 17-4 lead with seven minutes of play. But the three starters suffered two fouls each and sat on the bench, according to the long-standing custom of coach Fran McCaffery. The biggest omission of the lineup was the star Luka Garza, who left with 12:30 of the end and did not return. Connor McCaffery also became a spectator. Only freshman Keegan Murray returned for a brief stint with Jack Nunge, who was the only remaining graduate player. The message there was clearly that Fran McCaffery would accept a possible third foul on a newbie, but not a veteran. For some time, Iowa was able to maintain the lead, getting a few minutes of quality from freshman guard Tony Perkins in particular. But, eventually, the lack of experience reached the Hawkeyes, and the Hoosiers began to force turns, receiving baskets of transition and releasing to open 3 points. Indiana closed the interval with a series of 12-2 to take the lead 33-31, driven by 10 points from eight rebounds in Iowa and nine offensive rebounds. It was a complete turnaround from the opening minutes.
Joe Wieskamp was rolling early
Iowa junior player Joe Wieskamp was the rock for Iowa in the first half and the biggest reason the game remained played. He played every 20 minutes, with 15 points and five rebounds. At one point, it was Wieskamp and four freshmen on the Hawkeyes’ ground, just trying to reach the break with the lead. Wieskamp showed an expression of determination from the start, and buried 3 of 5 points out of 3 in the first half. The two who missed went in and out of the basket. He hit the target when the Hawkeyes desperately needed his leadership, a reminder that he may be Iowa’s second best player, but he is still as capable as any wing of the Big Ten. His most important statistic in the first half was a foul. If he had gotten a second, it would be difficult to imagine what would happen to Iowa’s chances.
Hawkeyes seemed to be in control
The Hawkeyes started fast in the second half too, in part because they took better care of basketball and controlled the boards. Iowa had no twists in the first 12 minutes of the second half, and Indiana also had no second chance points in that period of time. Jordan Bohannon and Wieskamp were great help in the defensive glass, gathering seven bags each in the first 33 minutes of the game. Iowa also made a more determined effort to work the ball inside, reaching the bonus with 13:14 remaining.
Iowa welcomes the next Rutgers at 6 pm on Wednesday.
Mark Emmert covers the Iowa Hawkeyes for the Register. Contact him at [email protected] or 319-339-7367. Follow him on Twitter at @MarkEmmert.