BLOOMINGTON, IN — Unable to build off of the confidence from their victory against #6 Michigan State on Saturday, Indiana loses to an upward trending Iowa team Thursday evening 72-77. The Hoosiers unsuccessfully tried to break the Hawkeye zone defense and did not have the tools to stop the high power Iowa offense that converted 1.18 points per possession.
Indiana misses an opportunity to truly capitalize and continue the snowballing of momentum from their victory in East Lansing. Instead of two resume defining wins, Archie’s team splits the pair and now starts another losing streak.
Back-and-forth, back-and-forth, the teams traded major buckets on both ends of the floor; however, in a game where the Hoosiers only led for 2:48 total, Iowa continually stiff-armed their way to the finish line. Time after time, Indiana took the Iowa shot clock down to 10, but prayers connected with time expiring on multiple occasions, largely due two juniors Tyler Cook and Jordan Bohannon.
The two combined for a total of 46 of the Hawkeyes’ 77 points and were unstoppable on the offensive end. Time after time, Tyler Cook would receive the ball in the paint and the Hoosiers could not stop his impressive fast-twitch spin moves. That task became even harder when senior Juwan Morgan picked up his fourth foul and was forced to sit.
Jordan Bohannon iced the game for the Hawkeyes as he shot a total of 6 of 7 from the line, with the majority of the shots coming in the final minutes of the game. In the first half, Bohannon lit up behind the arc as he buried 5 of 8 from deep. Both Devonte Green and Rob Phinisee could not contain Iowa’s floor general.
For Indiana, freshman Romeo Langford maintained his improvement and maturation process tonight. The 22 points he produced seems like a given and generally an expectation for the freshman superstar, but noticeably Romeo is starting to become more vocal with his teammates. He led by example, and now he is starting to lead by guidance.
After the scare in East Lansing, Indiana fans were just happy to see Juwan warm up and play this evening. With probably the toughest defensive assignment, Juwan Morgan found himself again at the mercy of the officials. Two early fouls in the first half and another two early fouls in the second half. As a result, he was only able to play 22 minutes for the Hoosiers this evening.
