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    IU basketball: Iowa at Indiana game day essentials

    Donald KaneBy IU Basketball 1 Comment
    Photo credit - IU Athletics

    Game Day Essentials:

     Iowa (18-11, 10-8) at No. 15 Indiana (20-9, 11-7)

    • Tip Time: 7:00 p.m. Eastern
    • Location: Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222), Bloomington, Indiana
    • Television: ESPN2 (Brian Custer, Robbie Hummel, Myron Medcalf)
    • Stream: Watch ESPN
    • IU Radio Network: IU Radio Network
    • Point Spread: Indiana is a 5.5-point favorite.
    • KenPom Projected Score: No. 21 Indiana 84 No. 44 Iowa 78
    • Series: Indiana leads 106-81. Iowa won last meeting 91-89 on Jan. 5, 2023

    More game coverage:

    Three keys from the first meeting:

    1. Massive first half lead blown. Indiana opened the game with a 28-7 lead, and they led 35-15 with 9:59 left in the first half.  IU forward Race Thompson was injured late in the first half and IU still led 40-28.  The Hawkeyes cut the lead to 10 at halftime and took the lead with 11:35 left in the second half.  The runs continued as IU went on a 12-2 push in the final seven minutes to retake the lead 84-78 before collapsing late.  The Hoosiers led for 31 minutes of the game. 11 Indiana first half turnovers contributed significantly to the initial Iowa comeback.

    2. Indiana’s defense shredded. The Hawkeyes shot 48 percent from the field and scored 1.26 points per possession including 53.6 and 1.46 respectively in the second half.  The Hoosiers committed 23 fouls which led to a 22-of-25 night at the free throw line for the Hawkeyes.  Iowa put five players in double figures, and they scored 46 points in the paint — a clear sign Indiana provided little resistance.  Iowa also helped their own cause with 13 offensive rebounds.

    3. No answers for Murray. For the third straight game against Iowa, IU had no answers for one of the Murray twins.  With Keegan in the NBA, Kris Murray torched IU for the second straight time in Iowa City with 30 points.  Thompson was tasked with the initial assignment to guard him.  Murray only had 7 points with 4:27 left in the first half when Thompson went down with an injury.  Indiana tried to stop him with several different players to no avail.

    Iowa’s results and roster:

    Iowa is 6-4 in their last 10 games after winning four of five from January 5 to January 21.

    They have seven top-40 KenPom wins on their resume this season: vs. No. 24 Iowa State, vs. No. 21 Indiana, vs. No. 31 Rutgers (twice), vs. No. 17 Maryland, vs. No. 35 Illinois, and vs. No. 28 Michigan State.  Only the win at Rutgers came away from home.

    The Hawkeyes are 3-7 in true road games.

    Iowa Notes:

    • Tuesday will be Iowa’s first visit to Assembly Hall in over two years. The Hawkeyes last visited Bloomington on Feb. 7, 2021.
    • Iowa posted its third-largest comeback in school history when it rallied to beat then-No. 15 Indiana (91-89) on Jan. 5, 2023, in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes trailed by 21 points (28-7) early in the first half. Iowa took its first lead with 11:35 remaining in the second half.
    • Iowa is 2-2 against AP ranked foes this season: 2-0 at home and 0-2 away from Iowa City.
    • The Hawkeyes are seeking to beat Indiana four straight times for the first time since 2010-11.
    • Iowa has 12 combined Quad 1 (4) and Quad 2 (8) wins on its resume, second most in the Big Ten behind Purdue (14).
    • Fran McCaffery (125) is one win from tying Tom Davis (126) for the most regular season Big Ten victories in program history.
    • Kris Murray & Trayce Jackson-Davis each netted 30 points in this year’s first meeting (Jan. 5).
    • Iowa has won 10 or more Big Ten games eight of the last nine seasons.
    • Iowa has one Indiana native on their roster: Tony Perkins (Indianapolis; Lawrence North HS).
    • Kris Murray and Drew Pember of UNC Asheville are the only Division I players in the country to average 20+ points, 8+ rebounds, and have made 50+ 3-pointers this season. Murray surpassed 500 points this season in Iowa’s last game versus Michigan State on Saturday.
    • Connor McCaffery has once again ascended to ranking first in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (4.21) this season. He also led the nation in the statistic in 2020, boasting a 4.6 ratio. McCaffery dished out a career-high 13 assists (zero turnovers) in the home win over Ohio State on Feb. 16. He has amassed 511 career assists, seventh most in program history. McCaffery is six assists from tying B.J. Armstrong (517) for sixth place.
    • Iowa has made (442) more free throws than its foes have attempted (412). The Hawkeyes have only once before accomplished the feat over the last 25 years (2018-19 season).
    • Filip Rebraca has reached double digits in scoring 21 of 23 games, including netting 15+ points in 11 of Iowa’s last 19. Rebraca is one of 11 players nationally to average 13.5+ points, 7.5+ rebounds, 1+ blocks, while shooting 57 percent or better from the field.
    • Iowa is tops in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in scoring offense (80.4). The Hawkeyes have led the league in scoring five of the last nine seasons, including the last four.
    • Forward Kris Murray’s 20.6 scoring average in conference play (17 games) is third in the league. Murray was tabbed midseason third team All-America by Sporting News and is on the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 List. In home games that Murray has played this season, Iowa is 12-0, with Murray averaging 23.2 points in those 12 home contests.
    • Iowa is third in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.66), 13th in fewest turnovers per game (10.0), 15th in assists per game (16.6), and 31st in fewest fouls per game (14.8).
    • The Hawkeyes are 11-1 this season when making nine or more 3-pointers in a game.

    Iowa’s 2022-23 KenPom Highlights:

    Here is where Iowa stands in the core measures and as an outlier in the advanced metrics.

    Tempo – No. 48 (Offense No. 19 / Defense No. 337)

    Offensive Efficiency – No. 5

    • Iowa’s effective FG percentage of 51.8 percent is No. 117 nationally. They are No. 87 nationally in two-point percentage (52.3) and rank No. 184 in three-point percentage (33.9).
    • The Hawkeyes take care of the ball, turning it over on just 14.1 percent of possessions, good for No. 8 in the country.
    • Iowa forces defenses to account for everyone, as assists occur on 58.1 percent of field goals made, No. 29.

    Defensive Efficiency – No. 171

    • Iowa ranks No. 298 in overall opponent effective field goal percentage (53.0), including No. 290 in three-point percentage (36.1) and No. 291 in two-point percentage (52.4).
    • The Hawkeyes aren’t super active defensively, turning opponents over on just 18.7 percent of possessions, No. 144.
    • Teams do most of their scoring from 2-point range against Iowa.  57.6 percent of opposing points come from twos, the 16th most in the country.
    • Playing defense without fouling is a strength, as free-throw attempts account for just 23.6 percent of opponent field goal attempts, No. 16.
      • That is the only major KenPom category which Iowa ranks inside the top-100 nationally.

    The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”

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