Hoosiers Fall to Hawkeyes in Return to Conference Play

Thursday, January 5

Iowa City, Iowa

9:00 PM

Indiana University

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Hoosiers Fall to Hawkeyes in Return to Conference Play

1/6/2023 12:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa – What do you say when a winnable game was lost, when a 21-point first-half lead against a struggling team wasn't enough, when monster games from Trayce Jackson-Davis and Jalen Hood-Schifino weren't enough?

If you're Indiana coach Mike Woodson in the aftermath of Thursday night's 91-89 loss at Iowa, you tell Voice of the Hoosiers Don Fischer on the post-game radio show that, in a lot of ways, your team played "great, but great don't get you nothing," and in the end, "You gotta finish the game, and we didn't do that."

Free throws were a big reason why.

Iowa, which entered with a three-game losing streak, was 22-for-25 from the line. IU was 17-for-26. Those nine misses, Woodson told Fischer, were the difference.

"You miss nine in a close game like this," Woodson told Fischer. "You make them and you win going away. We didn't make them. That was a big part of it."

And then …

"I harp in practice about free throws and concentrating because in close games, they are the difference," Woodson told Fischer. "Iowa made their free throws. We didn't make ours."

The No. 15 Hoosiers (10-4 overall, 1-2 in the Big Ten) shot 54 percent from the field and made 8-of-15 three-pointers, but struggled offensively and defensively down the stretch. They didn't make a field goal in the final 3:42 and missed their last five shots and six of their last seven. They also committed 14 turnovers, although only three in the second half. Iowa (9-6, 1-3) scored 20 points off those turnovers.

The Hawkeyes got double doubles from Kris Murray (30 points, 10 rebounds) and Filip Rebraca (19 and 10). Their 2-3 zone slowed the Hoosiers just enough.

A refreshed Jackson-Davis played to his All-America status. After missing the last two games, the senior forward set an instant tone by scoring 14 seconds into the game. He had 14 points and five rebounds by halftime, and 30 and nine for the game. He added three blocks and three assists in 38 minutes.

"The key is how he feels tomorrow," Woodson told Fischer. "I wanted to take him out. He fought me on that. He wanted to stay in. I get it. This is a game we had a chance to win and just didn't get it done."

Hood-Schifino had 21 points and nine assists. He was 5-for-8 from three-point range as the Hoosiers went 8-for-15 beyond the arc.

"He played great," Woodson told Fischer. "He's been playing well. We need that to continue. We have to get help from some other guys."

IU suffered a major blow with a late first-half leg injury to senior forward Race Thompson. He had nine points on 4-for-4 shooting, plus three rebounds when he got his leg rolled by from Iowa's Tony Perkins.

Beyond the offense, the Hoosiers missed Thompson's defense on Murray, who had 21 second-half points. Thompson spent the second half on the sidelines with crutches and an icepack on his right leg.

"In losing Race, that hurt," Woodson told Fischer. "He's a bigger matchup on Murray. We struggled in the second half with him. We've got to get the next man ready to go.

"I played (Jordan) Geronimo and Miller (Kopp) on Murray, as well as Malik Renault. He had his way in the second half. He was the difference maker coming down the stretch. I need Malik and Geronimo playing at a high level."

Early on, the Hoosiers did to Iowa what Arizona and Kansas had done to them. They unleashed a 15-0 run, quickly built a 21-point lead and were poised for a blow-out win.

But Iowa converted IU's 11 firsts-half turnovers into 15 points to close within five before trailing by 10 at halftime.

A blowout had become a cliffhanger.

Hood-Schifino brought his early three-point sharpshooting; Thompson went physical; and Jackson-Davis took change. The result -- a 16-4 Hoosier start in less than five minutes.

A minute later, it reached 22-4, Iowa's largest home deficit of the season. Two minutes after that, the lead was 21, at 28-7.

The Hoosiers led 35-15 when the Hawkeyes' 11-0 run got them back in the game. A Jackson-Davis basket ended that surge.

Thompson was hurt with 4:27 left in the first half. The Hawkeyes capitalized by closing within five points.

With 49 seconds left in the half, Geronimo put his hands on the rim as a Jackson-Davis shot went it. Iowa wanted the basket waved off for basket interference, but officials ruled it counted. Jackson-Davis added a free throw. Geronimo scored. The Hoosiers led 50-40 at halftime.

A Tamar Bates three-pointer gave IU an early 55-42 second-half lead. With Murray leading the way, the Hawkeyes closed within six points with 15 minutes left, then within four 40 seconds later, then within one.

A pair of Jackson-Davis baskets off Hood-Schifino assists got the Hoosiers back on track, but a Murray three-pointer tied it at 61-61 with 12 minutes left. Seconds later, the Hawkeyes got their first lead of the game at 63-61.

They built a four-point lead. A couple of Hood-Schino three-pointers kept Indiana close. A Jackson-Davis basket put IU ahead 72-70.

It didn't last.

Iowa built another four-point lead. Indiana rallied again. Bates scored off a Jackson-Davis pass. Kopp scored off another Jackson-Davis assist. Jackson-Davis muscled in a basket. The Hoosiers took an 84-78 lead, then faded. Iowa rallied with a 9-0 run to go ahead by three. IU inched within two, then one, at 87-86.

Tensions flared between coaches. A technical was called, then waved off.

IU defended Iowa into a futile possession. It had 23 regulation seconds to win it.

Murray blocked a Hood-Schifino layup, grabbed the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws for an 89-86 Iowa lead. Hood-Schifino was fouled and made both free throws. The Hawkeyes countered with two free throws for a 91-88 lead. Trey Galloway made a free throw.

It wasn't enough.