Iowa @ Indiana preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 22, 2019 ) Indiana 70, Iowa 76

No. 17 Iowa looks to stay in the hunt for its first Big Ten regular-season championship since 1979 when it visits Indiana on Thursday. The Hawkeyes have won seven of their last nine contests, including a 96-72 rout of Nebraska on Saturday, to move within two games of ninth-ranked Maryland at the top of the conference standings, and they hope to keep pace by knocking off the Hoosiers for the third consecutive time in the rivalry.

“Never get too high and never get too low that’s what we always say,” Iowa guard Connor McCaffery told reporters. “There’s always work to be done and there’s never a point where you can’t still be getting better.” Indiana is heading in the wrong direction following a 74-62 home loss to Purdue on Saturday. The Hoosiers have dropped four consecutive games, including their last three by an average margin of 12 points, to leave them on the outside looking in for a potential NCAA Tournament berth, and they hope to turn their fortunes around by adding a win over a ranked opponent to their resume. “It’s not about the doom and gloom,” Indiana coach Archie Miller told reporters. “It stinks and you’re really disappointed and it makes you sick, but the doom and gloom has to go away as soon as possible because the next one is coming right down the line.”

TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: Big Ten Network

ABOUT IOWA (17-7, 8-5 Big Ten): Joe Wieskamp poured in a career-high 30 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor to go along with seven rebounds and three assists as the Hawkeyes scored a season-best 96 points in the win against Nebraska. Luka Garza added 22 points, eight rebounds and a pair of steals against the Cornhuskers to notch his ninth straight 20-point game in Big Ten play while moving into 17th place on the program’s all-time scoring chart. Cordell Pemsl, who tallied three points and four rebounds against Nebraska, will miss Thursday’s game after he was arrested for driving with a revoked license.

ABOUT INDIANA (15-8, 5-7): Trayce Jackson-Davis went 8-of-10 from the free-throw line en route to a team-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots in the loss to Purdue. Justin Smith added 11 points and five rebounds while Jerome Hunter finished with 10 points, but the Hoosiers were undone by 14 turnovers. “We need some guys to respond on Thursday,” Miller told reporters. “One way or another you have to earn the right to break through and we’re at home again on Thursday and we’ve got to find a way to do that.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. McCaffery leads the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.24).

2. Indiana has dropped three out of four games against teams currently ranked in the Top 25.

3. Iowa tops the Big Ten in scoring offense with 79.1 points per game.

PREDICTION: Iowa 79, Indiana 74