How to Watch No. 15 Indiana Basketball Against Iowa Hawkeyes
IOWA CITY, Iowa. – Indiana basketball returns to the court after a 12-day break during the holidays, traveling to Iowa for a 9 p.m. ET tipoff.
Indiana enters the game with a 1-1 record in Big Ten play, defeating Nebraska at home and losing at Rutgers. Iowa is in the midst of a rough stretch, losing three of its last four games, including a 92-83 home loss to Eastern Illinois as 31.5-point favorites.
Indiana's Xavier Johnson and Iowa's Pat McCaffery are both out, meaning each team is missing a member of its starting lineup. Despite Iowa's recent struggles, coach Mike Woodson isn't taking the Hawkeyes lightly.
"I've experienced it all in the NBA in terms of teams that struggle," Woodson said. "Those are the most dangerous teams because their backs is somewhat against the wall. The fact that they're coming home, they play extremely well at home."
- *** LIVE BLOG: And once the game starts, follow all the action on our live blog from HoosiersNow.com publisher Tom Brew. To read that story, CLICK HERE.
How to watch Indiana Hoosiers vs. Iowa Hawkeyes
- Who: No. 15 Indiana Hoosiers (10-3, 1-1) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (8-6, 0-3)
- What: Indiana resumes Big Ten play
- When: 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, Jan. 5
- Where: Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa
- TV: FOX Sports 1
- Announcers: Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Bill Raftery (analyst)
- Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
- Radio: IU Radio Network (Bloomington: 105.1 WHCC-FM, Indianapolis: 107.5 WFNI-FM)
- Radio Announcers: Don Fischer (play-by-play), Errek Suhr (color), John Herrick (pregame, halftime, postgame)
- Point spread: Iowa is a 1.5-point favorite against Indiana, and the over/under is 151.5 points, according to the SISportsbook.com. For a complete breakdown on the latest line from Tom Brew, and history vs. the number for both teams, CLICK HERE
- Associated Press poll: Indiana moved up one spot to No. 15 despite not playing a game last week. Iowa is not currently ranked, and its only ranking this season was at No. 25 in the Nov. 21 AP poll.
- KenPom rankings: Indiana is No. 21 overall in the KenPom rankings as of Wednesday night. The Hoosiers are No. 21 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 29 in adjusted offensive efficiency. Iowa is ranked No. 50 overall, No. 111 in adjusted defensive efficiency and No. 18 in adjusted offensive efficiency.
- Season projections: As of Wednesday, Indiana has plus-750 odds to win the Big Ten regular season title, behind Rutgers at plus-550, Ohio State at plus-470 and Purdue at plus-210. Indiana is plus-1300 to reach the Final Four and plus-5000 to win the National Championship, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
- Last three games: Indiana defeated Kennesaw State 69-55 on Dec. 23, beat Elon 96-72 on Dec. 20 and lost 84-62 at Kansas on Dec. 17. Iowa lost 83-79 at Penn State on Sunday, lost 66-50 at Nebraska on Dec. 29 and lost 92-83 at home against Eastern Illinois on Dec. 21.
- Last season's records: Indiana went 21-14 overall, 9-11 in Big Ten play, 14-4 at home, 3-8 on the road and 4-2 at neutral sites in 2021-22. The Hoosiers finished ninth in the Big Ten, defeated Wyoming in the NCAA Tournament First Four and lost to Saint Mary's in the Round of 64. Iowa went 26-10 overall, 12-8 in Big Ten play, 15-3 at home, 6-6 on the road and 5-1 at neutral sites in 2021-22. Iowa finished fourth in the Big Ten and lost to 12-seed Richmond in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64.
- Series history: Indiana leads the all-time series, 106-80.
- Last meeting: Iowa defeated Indiana 80-70 on March 12, 2022 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Iowa guard Jordan Bohannon banked in a long-range 3-pointer just before the buzzer to defeat the Hoosiers, who led for most of the game. Bohannon scored nine of his 12 points in the final 2:26, and Keegan Murray led the Hawkeyes with 32 points on 8-for-10 3-point shooting with nine rebounds. Indiana's Trayce Jackson-Davis scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, while Xavier Johnson added 20 points and nine assists.
Leading scorers
- Indiana Hoosiers
- F Trayce Jackson-Davis: 16.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.7 bpg, 63.4 FG pct
- G Jalen Hood-Schifino: 10.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 4.3 apg
- F Miller Kopp: 9.6 ppg, 44.6 3-point FG pct
- Iowa Hawkeyes
- F Kris Murray: 20.4 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 37.1 3-point FG pct
- F Filip Rebraca: 14.1 ppg, 8.4 rpg, 60.3 FG pct
- G Tony Perkins: 11.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.1 apg
Meet the coaches
- Fran McCaffery, Iowa: In his 13th season at Iowa, McCaffery holds a 250–167 overall record with a 115-110 mark in Big Ten play. He has six total NCAA Tournament appearances with the Hawkeyes, including three since 2019. Iowa won the Big Ten tournament last season, but has never won the Big Ten regular season or made it past the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 under McCaffery. He played point guard for Wake Forest before transferring to Penn, where he was later an assistant for two seasons. McCaffery earned his first head coaching job at Lehigh in 1985 before becoming an assistant at Notre Dame. He was the head coach at UNC Greensboro from 1999-2005 and later at Siena from 2005-10, where he won three MAAC regular season and tournament titles.
- Mike Woodson, Indiana: Woodson has NBA head coaching experience with the Atlanta Hawks from 2004-10 and the New York Knicks from 2012-14. Dating back to 1996, Woodson has also been an assistant coach for the Milwaukee Bucks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks and Los Angeles Clippers. Woodson played at Indiana University from 1976-80, and was named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player as a senior under coach Bob Knight. He was the 12th overall pick in the 1980 NBA Draft, and played for various teams from 1980-91, averaging 14 points over 786 games. In his second season at Indiana, Woodson holds a 31-17 record.
Indiana Hoosiers guard Trey Galloway (32) dribbles the ball during the first half against the Kennesaw State Owls at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.
Robert Goddin-USA TODAY Sports
Three things to watch in Indiana vs. Iowa
1. Who steps up in Xavier Johnson's absence?
Indiana will be without fifth-year point guard Xavier Johnson, who recently underwent surgery for a broken foot suffered on Dec. 17 at Kansas. Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino (10.7 ppg) runs the point for Indiana now, and coach Mike Woodson said sophomore guard Tamar Bates (9.2 ppg) will start on Thursday. Bates has stepped up his game recently, scoring 19 points against Kennesaw State and Nebraska and 13 against Arizona. Johnson's injury also means more minutes for junior guard Trey Galloway (6.2 ppg) and freshman CJ Gunn, who scored 11 points on Dec. 20 against Elon.
2. Trayce Jackson-Davis' health
Indiana held out preseason All-American forward Trayce Jackson-Davis in its last two games due to precautionary reasons. The Hoosiers had an extended break from Dec. 23 to Jan. 5, so Jackson-Davis will have nearly three weeks of rest by the time Thursday's game tips off. He was especially effective against Iowa last season, scoring a combined 49 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocks in two matchups. Indiana will obviously need a healthy Jackson-Davis as it pursues Big Ten title aspirations.
"[Monday] was really the first time he's had some contact," Woodson said on Tuesday. "I thought he looked pretty good, but I won't know the extent of it until I get down there in the training room today and just see how he feels physically."
"He's been doing some things on the floor, but not a lot of contact. Yesterday we had a lot of contact. Today we'll have a lot of contact. We'll scrimmage today and just kind of see where he is, providing he's feeling good about yesterday's practice."
3. Containing Kris Murray
Keegan Murray garnered national recognition as a consensus All-American selection in 2021-22, but his twin brother Kris' 29 points and 11 rebounds led to Iowa's 83-74 win over Indiana last season. Keegan now plays for the Sacramento Kings, leaving Kris to run the show at Iowa. Kris has doubled his scoring and rebounding output from last season, averaging 20.4 points and 9.8 rebounds on 59.8 percent shooting. The Hawkeyes have lost four of their last five games – including a 92-83 home loss to Eastern Illinois as 31.5-point favorites – but Kris is capable of taking over any game.
Race Thompson will likely start on Murray, but this could be a game where Jordan Geronimo's defensive versatility is utilized to guard Murray.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
- XAVIER JOHNSON INJURY UPDATE: Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson recently underwent foot surgery after suffering an injury at Kansas on Dec. 17. Johnson's return remains unclear, but coach Mike Woodson is helping him stay positive during the process. CLICK HERE
- NEW MEXICO LOSS KEEPS 1975-76 HOOSIERS RECORD ALIVE: No. 21 New Mexico was the last undefeated college basketball team during the 2022-23 season, but the Lobos suffered a 71-67 loss at Fresno State on Tuesday. With this loss, the 1975-76 Indiana Hoosiers, coached by Bob Knight, hold onto their title as college basketball's most recent undefeated national champions. CLICK HERE
- LEAL CHRISTMAS VIDEO: Indiana basketball's Anthony Leal paid off his sister Lauren's student loans as a Christmas present this year. The video went viral, and the siblings were featured CBS Evening News on Monday. "He'll be blessed for it one day," Indiana coach Mike Woodson said. CLICK HERE
- REST VS. RUST: Indiana hasn't played a game since Dec. 23 and the Hoosiers are looking forward to getting back in action on Thursday night in Iowa City. The rest has helped some injured Hoosiers, but how much will rust come into play as the Big Ten season resumes? CLICK HERE
- BATES TO START: Trying to end repeated slow starts, Indiana coach Mike Woodson said Monday night that he's going to put sophomore guard Tamar Bates into the starting lineup on Thursday when the Hoosiers resume Big Ten play at Iowa. Bates has had three games of 19 or more points off the bench already this season. CLICK HERE
