Ideas on an 85-60 loss to Iowa:
Iowa Metropolis is a great distance from the Bahamas.
However tonight’s recreation from Indiana might have match proper into its Battle 4 Atlantis efficiency.
As Iowa started to drag away early within the second half, the Hoosiers utterly folded. They did not compete. The physique language was poor. They couldn’t defend. They couldn’t rating. They appeared like a crew that had given up.
Iowa obtained up by as a lot as 30 earlier than selecting a 25-point victory. That 25-point defeat for the Hoosiers? It’s the most important loss throughout common season Huge Ten play within the Mike Woodson period.
Iowa entered this recreation 121st on KenPom in adjusted defensive effectivity however held Indiana to simply .83 factors per possession tonight. That’s Indiana’s lowest output of the season. The earlier low? The .85 factors per possession it scored towards Louisville within the Bahamas.
The Hoosiers have performed nicely towards zone protection this season, however that wasn’t the case tonight. Iowa’s 2-3 zone turned them into bounce shooters. The Hoosiers simply couldn’t discover a constant rhythm towards it. On paper, Indiana entered this one because the far superior rebounding crew. It’s an space that’s helped the Hoosiers succeed throughout their three-game convention profitable streak. However the Hawkeyes snagged 29 p.c of their offensive rebounds tonight, whereas the Hoosiers rebounded simply 24 p.c.
Iowa additionally completely feasted off Indiana’s 16 turnovers. The Hawkeyes scored 24 factors off turnovers on an evening the Hoosiers turned the ball over on 22 p.c of their possessions. Indiana was notably poor with the ball within the first half and entered the locker room turning it over on 32 p.c of its possessions.
Oumar Ballo had a tough begin. Iowa doubled him from the get-go and Owen Freeman poked at him, too. The Arizona switch had 4 turnovers by the 14:38 mark within the first half when he was yanked from the sport by Woodson. Ballo has been a dominant drive for Indiana of late. And whereas he nonetheless posted a double-double — 10 factors, 13 rebounds — Freeman bested him tonight. The sophomore can play out on the perimeter and his quickness and array of strikes made him a tricky matchup for the larger Ballo. Freeman completed with 16 factors (8-of-13) and 12 boards. He additionally defended the paint nicely, racking up a game-high 4 blocks whereas additionally including three steals. Ballo didn’t block a shot this night.
Mackenzie Mgbako performed solely 16 minutes and scored six factors. He’s 2-of-14 from the ground over his final two video games.
Iowa hit 11-of-24 (46 p.c) from 3-point vary. Indiana made simply 4-of-16 (25 p.c). After heating up within the second half, Payton Sandfort led all scorers with 23 factors.
“If you exit on the street within the Huge Ten, you’ll be able to’t flip it over, you gotta rebound together with your opponent and also you gotta make pictures,” Woodson mentioned after the sport. “We failed in all three areas tonight.”
Fail Indiana did tonight. The beginning of its hardest stretch of the season was a catastrophe. With higher groups simply over the horizon, the Hoosiers have to overlook about this one and never let it have an effect on them.
We’ll quickly see how they reply with the Illini coming to Bloomington for a Tuesday evening bout.
(Photograph credit score: Huge Ten Basketball on X)
Filed to: Iowa Hawkeyes
