Indiana Stuns No. 8 Iowa Again with 2nd-Half Rally, Wins on Franklin's Late Jumper

Armaan Franklin struggled all night, but Indiana's sophomore guard hit a mid-range jumper with 1.8 seconds left to give Indiana a come-from-behind victory over Iowa on Sunday at Assembly Hall

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – There's something to be said for perseverance and patience. It paid off on Sunday for Indiana, which upset No 8 Iowa for the second time in 17 days with a 67-65 comeback victory at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Indiana's three starting guards – Armaan Franklin, Rob Phinisee and Al Durham – were a combined 1-for-23 shooting through the first 35 minutes of the game. Because of it the Hoosiers trailed by double-digits in both halves. But they rallied both times to make a game of it.

Phinisee made a huge three-pointer with 1:39 to go to tie the game and then Franklin ended it with a mid-range jumper off the left elbow with 1.8 seconds to go to give Indiana the win.

From terrible to terrific, just like that. 

"Coach called for me to go get it, and called a play for me, kind of an iso,'' said Franklin, who finished with four points. "Race (Thompson) faked a screen, and created kind of a diversion. Luka (Garza) stepped out a bit and I saw him leaning, so I hit a step-back and just let it go.''

Got that w. 😌 pic.twitter.com/hB8N6rGTHj

— Armaan Franklin (@unkle44artty) February 7, 2021

With the win, the Hoosiers moved to 10-8 overall and 5-6 in the league, and it's only the second time they had wins against two top-10 teams in the same season in the Archie Miller era. They did the same thing in 2019, beating No. 6 Michigan State twice. They are the only college team in the past decade to beat a top-10 team twice as an unranked opponent – and now they've done it twice themselves.

Iowa has now lost four of five games in the past 17 days. The Hawkeyes are now 13-6 overall and 7-5 in the league. After losing to Ohio State as well on Thursday, they are sure to fall out of the top-10 for the first time all season.

The win was huge for Indiana, which has been struggling to finish games lately. They lost earlier this week as well, falling in overtime to No. 12 Illinois when they had a late second-half lead.

"That was a total team effort today and that's not really coach-speak,'' Indiana coach Archie Miller said. "There wasn't one guy that checked into that game that didn't do something to help us. That's a testament to their work ethic. We have a number of guys who are helping and contributing right now.

"To be able to find a way today, hopefully that will give us a shot in the arm. 

Indiana won the battle inside, holding the All-American Garza to 18 points. Garza was in foul trouble early and sat out the last 12 minutes of the first half. Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson and even Jordan Geronimo all took a whack at Garza, trying to give him different looks the entire game.

Thompson finished with 15 points and six rebounds, and battled nose-to-nose with Garza, whom he called ''a great player.'' Jackson-Davis had 17 points and 12 rebounds

"He’s turned into a real leader,'' Miller said of Thompson. "Of any player I’ve ever been around, I’m not sure I’ve ever been around anyone who’s evolved more, not just as a player, but as a person."

The Hoosiers did next to nothing through most of the first half, going 5-for-27 from the field through the first 17-plus minutes. They fell behind quickly at 17-4, and Iowa still lead 31-24 with two minutes to go, but the Hoosiers scored the final nine points to take a two-point lead into halftime at 33-31. They made 6-of-7 shots in the final three minutes, including four three-pointers. 

Garza had 16 second-half points and helped Iowa build a 10-point lead early in the second half. Indiana quickly feel behind by 10 again in the second half, missing nine of its first 10 shots, but then staged another rally to get back in the game.

"Guarding Garza is a challenge. You've got to give him different looks and and letting him feel you,'' Thompson said. "I was focused on giving him different looks and just tried hard to not let him catch it.''

Indiana got a big boost from its four freshmen when the veterans were struggling for much of the game. Anthony Leal and Jordan Geronimo each had six points, Trey Galloway had four and Khristian Lander had three, and they were all solid on the defensive end as well. Leal had three steals and Lander had one, and they combined for nine rebounds as well. 

"I thought Anthony, Trey, Khristian and Jordan, they did a really good job for us and  changed the game." Miller said. "Both games against Iowa, our bench has done a really good job.''

After Phinisee's big three-pointer, Garza made one of two free throws but then Race Thompson scored inside to give Indiana a 63-62 lead. They doubled Garza on the other end and forced a miss, with Jackson-Davis getting the rebound.

"He responded well tonight when we really needed him,'' Miller said of Jackson-Davis. "He wasn't good early. He doesn't get off to great starts, but he's finishing games. He rebounded tonight. He had nine defensive rebounds and he was able to go up and get some balls with two hands that we haven't been able to get recently,''

Jackson-Davis was fouled on his way to the basket on the other end, and he made both free throws to put Indiana head 65-62. They were big, because he had made only 1-of-5 free throws prior to that.

"He wasn't having a good night at the line, but he banged two big free throws for us there as well,'' Miller said. "We made some winning plays, which was good to see, because on Tuesday (in the overtime loss to Illinois) is was just the opposite, where we didn't make enough winning plays.

Jordan Bohannon, a Hoosier killer for years, nailed a three-pointer to tie the game at 65 with 27 seconds to go. Indiana chose not to call a timeout, and got the ball in Franklin's head. He whittled down the clock, and took it from three, hitting the jumper to seal the victory. 

"As long you get the last one, that's the guy we want to get the ball to,'' Miller said of Franklin. "This one he did a good job. He didn't force it, and that mid-range shot is a part of his game. I'm not worried about his confidence. He wasn't having his best game, but he stayed ready and he made it.''

Iowa's two lowest-scoring games this season have both come against Indiana. They've scored 65 and 69 points in the two losses. They are No. 2 in the country in scoring (89.1 points per game), behind only No. 1-ranked Gonzaga.