Indiana @ Iowa preview
Carver-Hawkeye Arena
Last Meeting ( Feb 7, 2019 ) Iowa 77, Indiana 72
Iowa looks to bounce back from its first loss in the month of February when it hosts struggling Indiana on Friday. The No.19 Hawkeyes, who had won their previous four games, including two in dramatic fashion at the buzzer, saw their luck finally run out as they missed two potential game-winning shots in the final seconds of the 66-65 setback to No. 25 Maryland on Tuesday, and hope to get back on track by sweeping the season series with the Hoosiers for the first time since 2010-11.
"I'm still very confident and we're 20-6 so I'm just looking forward to these next couple of weeks," Iowa forward Nicholas Baer told reporters. "It's important to keep perspective as the sky's not falling by any means." Indiana lost its fourth straight game following a 48-46 defeat to No. 13 Purdue on Tuesday. The Hoosiers have dropped 11 of their last 12 games overall to fall out of NCAA Tournament contention, and hope to play their way back into postseason contention by knocking off the Hawkeyes for the fourth time in fifth meetings with quadrant one games against No. 23 Wisconsin and No. 7 Michigan on deck. "We still have a chance and everything we want is still in front of us," Indiana forward Juwan Morgan told reporters. "I think you learn a lot about yourself when you get punched in the mouth and you can't really reach the highs until you reach the lows."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1
ABOUT INDIANA (13-13, 4-11 Big Ten): Freshman star Romeo Langford narrowly missed out on a double-double as the projected lottery pick led the team with 14 points to go along with nine rebounds despite being hampered by flu-like symptoms in the loss to Purdue. Morgan also came close to registering a double-double as he added nine points and 11 rebounds, but missed the potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining as the Hoosiers suffered their fifth straight home loss. De'Ron Davis produced eight points and six rebounds while Zach McRoberts, who scored three points, is questionable for Friday's game with a foot injury.
ABOUT IOWA (20-6, 9-6): Jordan Bohannon, who drilled the game-winning 3-pointer in the 80-79 victory against Northwestern on Feb. 10, scored a team-high 14 points and dished out four assists, but couldn't match his heroics from the previous week as his shot from beyond the arc clanged off the rim in the waning seconds. Moss added 12 points and 10 rebounds to register his second double-double of the season, but his follow-up on Bohannon's miss with less than a second remaining was off the mark. Tyler Cook, who leads the team in scoring (15.9), was held to season-low six points while Luka Garza was held to five points on 1-of-7 shooting.
TIP-INS
1. Iowa's last three games have been decided by a total of four points.
2. Indiana has been held to 63 points or fewer eight times in its last 11 games.
3. Langford has scored in double figures in 24 of 26 outings this season.
PREDICTION: Iowa 79, Indiana 73