The Indiana Hoosiers (10-8, 5-6 B10) welcomed the No. 8 Iowa Hawkeyes (13-6, 7-5 B10) into Bloomington and Assembly Hall looking to right the ship on their 2020-2021 season that has been unsteady thus far to say the least.
Once again, head coach Archie Miller went with the usual starting five that the Hoosiers have rolled out this year. Al Durham, Rob Phinisee, Armaan Franklin, Race Thompson, and Trayce Jackson–Davis.
There was not a single point scored for the first minute and 56 seconds when IU senior Al Durham sunk two free throws.
Iowa came into the game clearly upset with their shooting performance in their last contest against Indiana as they came out scorching from long distance. Jordan Bohannon and Joe Wieskamp started out by Knocking down their first five combined long-distance shots.
With 13:43 remaining IU trailed 15-4. They increased the advantage to 17-4 before Indiana could even clear away the cobwebs on the early Sunday start.
The only three-point basket Indiana hit prior to the 3:47 mark was a pregame ritual half court heave from Race Thompson. With just under four minutes remaining in the half, Durham hit an and-one three pointer. IU remarkably finished the half 4-of-9 from three.
As for the National Player of the Year candidate Luka Garza, he picked up two fouls before the 12-minute mark which sidelined him for a majority of the first half. He ended the half with just two points in eight minutes of play.
The final 1:36 of the first half was what IU basketball fans had been waiting to see all year. A massive transition dunk from Jackson-Davis, a three-point shot from 5-star Khristian Lander, and another three from freshman Anthony Leal helped Indiana end the half on a 9-0 run, taking a 33-31 lead at the break.
