After blowing a big lead and suffering multiple injuries, Indiana found a way in a game it had to win.
The Hoosiers ran out to a 39-22 lead late in the first half. But Iowa went on a dominant 34-14 stretch spanning halftime to take the lead. Very similar to Saturday at Illinois, after each team delivered punches, the game was tied with a couple minutes to go. But this time the Hoosiers scored the last eight points of the game to claim the victory.
Let’s take a deeper look at how IU won 74-68 with another edition of The Report Card.
Indiana (13-8, 5-5) will next host Penn State on Saturday.
OFFENSE (C+)
Despite an 0-of-9 day beyond the arc Saturday, Indiana appeared to place an emphasis on taking more 3-pointers against Iowa.
IU took their fourth most attempts from long range in a game this season (22), and tied for their third most makes (8). A heavy diet of skip passes and kick-outs off drives yielded open looks against a suspect Iowa defense, and this time the shooters delivered.
Indiana’s offense struggled at times when Iowa went to a zone that at times including a press that often put the Hoosiers late in the shot clock.
In the second half IU shot just 33.3 percent and committed five turnovers. When things get tight they’d typically lean heavily on Malik Reneau. Without him, Indiana scrapped. The Hoosiers had 13 offensive rebounds and scored 15 points off of them. 1o and 10 came in the second half, respectively. Their 38.2 percent offensive rebounding rate was their third highest this season.
Overall, the Hoosiers scored 1.12 points per possession. They took care of the ball within reason, and were somewhat efficient from both two and three. But free throws continued to be a challenge, however, as IU shot 14-of-22 (63.6 percent).
DEFENSE (B+)
Iowa was below their season averages across the board. Indiana held them to 23-of-65 (35.4%) shooting including 6-of-22 (27.3%) from beyond the arc. The Hoosiers limited Iowa to 1.03 points per possession. The Hawkeyes haven’t won a game all year at that mark or lower. And Iowa’s 40 percent effective field goal percentage was their second lowest all season.
Save for losing track of shooters a few times, Indiana guarded the arc fairly well. And even without Reneau, the Hoosiers tied their largest rebounding margin of the season.
“It’s going to be our defense that carries us the rest of the way and rebounding the ball,” IU coach Mike Woodson said. “And I thought tonight it was a beautiful carry-over from the Illinois game, because we were pretty good defensively.”
The defense wasn’t nearly as good in the second half. Iowa placed a greater emphasis on pushing the pace, and Indiana struggled to contain them at times. Especially Hawkeye point guard Tony Perkins, who focused on getting downhill and bullying IU defenders. The Hoosiers had very few answers for him and Payton Sandfort, but they didn’t let anyone else get going. That was in part because their rotations were generally sound, and they mitigated Iowa’s ball movement and forced them to win off the bounce.
Despite all the drives by Perkins and others, Indiana was able to somewhat limit fouls and free throws. Iowa’s 19 free throw attempts were the third lowest allowed to a high major by IU this season. That’s not a great stats, but it shows improvement.
MORE GAME COVERAGE
- Kel’el Ware displayed grit and toughness when Indiana men’s basketball needed him most
- “You call that a true pro” — Anthony Leal delivers against Iowa
- Watch: Woodson, Cupps and Leal discuss win Indiana over Iowa
- IU basketball: Indiana 74 Iowa 68 — Three keys, highlights, final stats
THE PLAYERS
*Trey Galloway (B-) It was an up and down night for the scrappy guard. His late free throws, game-winning assist to Gabe Cupps, and effort to get his hands on an IU miss that would result in a game-sealing dunk by Kel’el Ware were all massive moments. And don’t overlook his career-high seven rebounds and effort on defense. But he struggled from three and had several out of character turnovers.
*Mackenzie Mgbako (C-) After a good start shooting the ball, this was not Mgbako’s night. He finished the game making just one of his last 11 shots. All three of Iowa’s threes in the first seven minutes appeared to be on Mgbako, and he sat for more than 10 minutes. And he wasn’t a factor on the glass in this one.
*Malik Reneau – The sophomore forward was injured three minutes into the game.
*Kel’el Ware (A) This was Ware’s grittiest effort of the season. His length and effort seemed to impact every possession on both ends of the floor. And the 7-footer battled an ankle that was clearly bothering him throughout the game. Yes he missed free throws and his three banked in, but this was an overall elite effort from Ware.
*Xavier Johnson (B-) Johnson’s night ended doing exactly what IU needed to do against Iowa’s pressure — attacking it. He had his ups and downs in this one, but Johnson’s effort was on point and he delivered some big moments including a important second half three to slow an Iowa run.
Anthony Walker (B-) Walker was put into a tough spot when Reneau went down. He obviously isn’t going to fill his shoes on offense, but Walker was good on the defensive end.
Gabe Cupps (A) Not very often will you see a player’s only shot of a game end up being the game-winner. Cupps stepped into a decisive 3-pointer without hesitation, and he was somehow +14 on the night in just 11 minutes, which if nothing else highlights that he was a steadying force.
Anthony Leal (A) Something you probably wouldn’t have thought before the game — IU doesn’t win this one without Leal. After four years of mostly riding the bench and grinding it out behind the scenes, he deserved this moment. And it was about more than just three 3-pointers and a career high 13 points. Leal had a career-high seven rebounds, and he was good on the defensive end.
Payton Sparks and C.J. Gunn also appeared in the game.
Kaleb Banks did not play, coach’s decision.
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Jakai Newton (knee) is out long-term.
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