Iowa @ Indiana preview
Assembly Hall
Last Meeting ( Jan 21, 2021 ) Indiana 81, Iowa 69
No. 8 Iowa has hit a rough patch, losing three of its last four games due to defensive breakdowns late in games.
The Hawkeyes will be looking to reverse that trend on Sunday when the play at Indiana in Bloomington, Ind.
Iowa (13-5, 7-4 Big Ten) was unable to hold an 11-point, second half lead in an 89-85 loss to No. 7 Ohio State on Thursday night.
"Play after play we just didn't get a stop and we let one bad play turn into two or three bad plays," Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon said.
The Hawkeyes have given up an average of 82 points in their last four games, and have lost their last two games by an average margin of 4.5 points.
"What's disheartening, what's disappointing, you feel like you are in a position to win and you don't win and you feel pressure as a coach," Iowa coach Fran McCaffery said. "I should have done something different ... We just have to do better in crunch time."
The last time Iowa faced Indiana, on Jan. 21, the Hoosiers upset the Hawkeyes, winning 81-69 in Iowa City. Indiana outscored Iowa 37-16 in the final 12 minutes of the game, shooting 71.4 percent from the field during that stretch compared to Iowa's 17.6 percent.
Iowa could be without sharp-shooting guard CJ Fredrick, who sat out the Ohio State game with a lower leg injury. McCaffery said that Fredrick, who sat out the second half of Iowa's last game against Indiana, remains day-to-day. Fredrick is shooting a team-high 50 percent from 3-point range for the Hawkeyes this season.
Indiana (9-8, 4-6) is dealing with its own struggles. The Hoosiers are looking to snap a two-game losing streak and are coming off a 75-71 overtime loss to No. 12 Illinois on Tuesday. Trayce Jackson-Davis posted his sixth double-double of the season with 19 points and 14 rebounds in the loss, but Indiana was unable to come up with big shots in overtime, scoring just one field goal in the extra session.
The loss dropped Indiana to 1-3 in overtime on the season and 1-3 in games decided by five points or less.
"The effort is there, but at the same time, down the stretch, the loose balls, 50-50 balls that we have to grab, loose rebounds that we have in our hands and they take from us and you can't let that happen," Jackson-Davis said. "The effort was definitely there but we just have to close out these games."
Bohannon said despite Iowa's recent struggles, players are trying to remain positive. Iowa was one of the preseason favorites to win the Big Ten this season due in large part to the return of senior forward and National Player of the Year candidate Luka Garza, who is averaging 25.9 points and 8.7 rebounds on the season.
"There's a lot of season left," Bohannon said. "To say that coming into this year that a team was going go undefeated and run the table in the Big Ten to win the title, I think that's ludicrous to even think that."
--Field Level Media