Live Blog: Follow Indiana's Game Against Iowa in Real Time
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana returns to the comfort of Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. ET tipoff against the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Indiana and Iowa enter the game with an identical 12-8 overall record and 4-5 mark in Big Ten play, putting them in a four-way tie for seventh place in the conference standings with Michigan State and Minnesota. The Hoosiers are in the midst of a three-game losing streak following a close 70-62 loss at No. 10 Illinois on Saturday, while the Hawkeyes won 88-78 at Michigan the same day.
Welcome to our live blog, where we'll share updates, highlights and thoughts on the game live from press row at Assembly Hall.
9:08 p.m. – Dix misses a three from the left wing, and Leal secures the rebound. He goes 2-for-2 at the line, extending his career high to 13 points. IU leads 74-68 with 12.1 left.
9:06 p.m. – Sandfort airballs a three, and IU runs a big chunk of remaining clock before a missed three from Mgbako. Galloway came up with the offensive rebound, though, and passed it to Ware for a put back. IU leads 72-68 with 26.1 seconds.
9:04 p.m. – Cupps answers with a 3-pointer of his own from the left wing, his first shot attempt of the game. Absolutely clutch from the freshman. After a Perkins turnover, Galloway is fouled and goes 1-for-2 at the line. IU leads 70-68 with a minute left.
9:01 p.m. – McCaffery in bounded the ball from one sideline to the other, falling perfectly to Sandfort, who hit a 2-point jumper through heavy defense from Gabe Cupps. It would have been a three, but his foot was on the line. Iowa leads 68-66 with 1:40 left.
8:57 p.m. – Johnson walks to the locker room pulling his jersey over his head. He's had awful injury luck over the last two seasons. Galloway shoots the free throws in place of Johnson and makes both. Tied 66-66 with two minutes left.
8:56 p.m. – Xavier Johnson fell hard after being fouled on a dunk attempt, and now he's grabbing his arm in pain on the ground. On the replay, it looks like he handed on his left wrist. He's being evaluated by IU staff on the ground.
8:53 p.m. – Iowa continues to attack Leal on defense, this time Perkins backing him into the lane. Leal is called for a foul, and Ware is called for goaltending. Perkins knocks down the free throw, giving Iowa a 66-64 lead with 2:20 left.
8:52 p.m. – Looks like Woodson is going offense-defense with Mgbako and Cupps the rest of the way.
8:50 p.m. – Ware grabs another offensive rebound off a Galloway missed layup. He's fouled on the put back but goes 0-for-2 at the line. IU leads 64-62 with 3:15 left.
8:43 p.m. – Dix ties he game back up at 60-60 with a pair free throws. That's Mgbako's third foul, but he stays in the game. Mgbako missed a contested layup, but Ware was there for the offensive rebound and put-back. A nearly identical play happened on the next possession, though Ware was fouled this time. He goes 2-for-2 at the line, giving IU a 64-60 lead with 4:32 left.
8:40 p.m. – Anthony Leal has a career-high 11 points on 3-for-4 3-point shooting, passing his previous career-high (9) set on Jan. 7, 2021 at Wisconsin. IU leads 59-58 with 5:43 to play.
8:37 p.m. – Leal gives Indiana a 59-58 lead with a corner three, and the Assembly Hall crowd is loving it. Loud "airball" chants rain down from the stands after Harding misses badly. Leal missed a three on the next possession, but he's 3-for-4 on 3-point attempts with 11 points.
8:35 p.m. – Kel'el Ware slams home an emphatic dunk over Owen Freeman, but he came up a bit hobbled. He knocks down the free throw and stays in the game, but keep an eye on his mobility. Tied 56-56.
8:32 p.m. – Indiana has turned the ball over three times in the last 1:21. The Hoosiers have 11 turnovers tonight compared to just two for Iowa, which has 10 points off those turnovers. Iowa leads 54-53 at the under-8 timeout.
8:29 p.m. – Crafty move by Leal inside to hop past his defender and get to the rim. Iowa answers right back with a transition layup by Dix, who was fouled by Cupps, his third. Mgbako checks in for Cupps. Dix makes the free throw, giving Iowa its first lead since 3-2. Hawkeyes lead 54-53.
8:26 p.m. – IU going with an even smaller lineup now, with Cupps, Johnson, Leal, Galloway and Sparks. After a missed floater by Johnson, Perkins makes a layup while being fouled by Galloway, his third. Perkins missed the free throw, so the game is tied 49-49.
8:24 p.m. – Leal gets beat on defense on back-to-back possessions, first losing Sandfort on a back-door cut then allowing a pull-up jumper to Perkins. IU needs his 3-point shooting, but he's struggling on defense right now and Iowa is going right at him. IU leads 49-47.
8:18 p.m. – Really good ball movement from the Hoosiers frees up Xavier Johnson for a 3-pointer. Galloway drove the baseline, passed to Leal in the corner, who then swung it to Johnson for an open look on the left wing. Indiana's offense looks so much better with a three-guard lineup. IU leads 49-43.
8:16 p.m. – Perkins with an old-fashioned 3-point play to trim IU's lead to three points. The Hoosiers' biggest lead was 39-22 with 1:27 left in the first half, but that's nearly been erased already.
8:14 p.m. – After yet another 3-pointer from Sandfort, Indiana created good looks for Galloway and Mgbako but they were unable to hit. IU's lead is down to six points with 15 minutes left.
8:10 p.m. – Johnson goes 1-for-2 at the line, which is met by some boos from the Indiana student section. Sandfort answers with a three. He's up to 19 points already and has been Iowa's best player by far. Johnon slips while driving to the basket, and it leads to a jump ball. IU leads 44-35 at the under-16.
8:06 p.m. – Mgbako continuing to be aggressive early in the second half, bodying Sandfort all the way to the basket. He drew two fouls, then went 1-for-2 at the line. he's got 11 points, and IU leads 43-32.
8:05 p.m. – Smart play from Mgbako there to in bound the ball off Freeman's back while he wasn't looking. It leads to an easy layup. IU leads 42-30.
8:01 p.m. – Perksins starts the half with a mid-range jumper, and Iowa is within 10 points for the first time since the 10:27 mark of the first half.
7:52 p.m. – That first-half performance was especially impressive from Indiana since it did so without Malik Reneau for 17 minutes. He went to the locker room with what looked like an ankle or foot injury and came back out on crutches.
7:48 p.m. – Kel'el Ware played well on both ends in his first game back from injury, scoring easily and deterring Ben Krikke on defense. IU is 5-for-12 on 3-point attempts after making zero at Illinois. Payton Sandfort came to play – he's got 14 pts – but not much else is working for the Hawkeyes, who shot 27.3% from the field.
7:46 p.m. – Cupps called for a hand check guarding Perkins really far from the basket, his second foul. IU gets a stop before half, so the Hoosiers lead 39-28 at the break.
7:41 p.m. – A simple shot fake and one dribble frees up Mgbako for a mid-range jumper. That's just too easy. Iowa's defense really struggling this half, allowing far too many open looks. Ware finishes easily on the next possession. IU leads 39-22.
7:39 p.m. – Johnson missed a tough layup, but Walker was there to clean it up with a put-back dunk. Galloway must have gotten a hand on Sandfort on the other end, as he's called for a 3-point shooting foul. Sandfort hits all three. IU leads 35-22 with 2:39 left.
7:34 p.m. – Payton Sparks swats Brock Harding's shot into the fans, then gave him a "no, no" finger wave, like Dikembe Mutombo. IU leads 33-19 at the under-4 timeout.
7:30 p.m. – Johnson, Galloway and Sparks checking in now for Ware, Leal and Cupps. Indiana continues to roll with the three-guard lineup, both because Reneau is out and because the offense looks much better with more ball handlers.
7:29 p.m. – Iowa leading scorer Ben Krikke is having a really tough time on Kel'el Ware right now. Krikke is 0-for-5 from the field, and Ware has two blocks, plus 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting.
7:27 p.m. – Indiana is on an 11-0 run now, and Iowa hasn't scored in 5:05. Indiana's defensive improvements tonight and Saturday against Illinois are jarring, especially given the breakdowns in losses to Wisconsin and Purdue.
7:24 p.m. – Leal was left wide open at the top of the key, and he made Iowa pay by knocking down his second three. Assembly Hall goes crazy for the hometown kid. IU leads 30-15.
7:23 p.m. – Walker got in the way of Leal's defender just enough to allow him to pop to the left wing unguarded and knock down a three. Ware with a block on the other end. IU leads 27-15.
7:22 p.m. – Ware banks in a three from the top of the key. I assume he didn't mean to bank it in, but it counts the same. Ware entered the game shooting 41.7% from three. IU leads 24-15.
7:21 p.m. – Indiana going a bit smaller now with Galloway, Cupps, Leal, Walker and Ware. The Hoosiers swing it around the arc, then dump it inside for an easy dunk by Ware. Good ball movement there.
7:16 p.m. – Leal strips the ball from Perkins on a drive to the basket, leading to an open three from Galloway on the other end but he missed. Assembly Hall loving Leal's defensive effort early on. IU leads 19-15 at the under-12 timeout.
7:14 p.m. – Trey Galloway is often at his best when going full speed and flying around the court, perfectly displayed by that last possession. Mgbako came up with the loose ball, and Galloway beat everyone down the court for a dunk. Sandfort answers with a three. Anthony Leal checks in now. IU leads 19-15.
7:13 p.m. – Mgbako lost his man, Dix, who makes Indiana pay with a wide open corner three. Ware finishes inside on the other end quite easily. Krikke hasn't been able to guard him so far. IU leads 17-10.
7:12 p.m. – Reneau just came back out of the tunnel, but he was limping quite noticeably. Mgbako misses a three, but Ware was there for the put-back dunk.
7:08 p.m. – Perkins knocks down a mid-range jumper, then Iowa gets the ball right back after Johnson mishandled the ball and was called for a double-dribble. Galloway gets a steal, then passes it ahead to Johnson for a layup. Iowa tried a long in-bounds pass but it hit off Johnson and caromed to Galloway who, then called a timeout just before going out of bounds. Assembly Hall is loving it. IU leads 13-7.
7:05 p.m. – Malik Reneau got bumped guarding Ben Krikke on that last possession, and it looks like he's grabbing his ankle or foot while sitting on the court. He limps off with some help. Reneau is Indiana's leading scorer at 16.7 points per game. Anthony Walker checks in.
7:03 p.m. – Mgbako waited a second then knocked down another three from the same spot as the previous possession. Sandfort was on him, but not close enought. They call that "hand down, man down." Johnson with a strong take to the basket on the next possession, converting the layup through a foul. He makes the free throw, too. IU leads 11-5.
7:02 p.m. – Soft touch on the pass from Johnson leads to an easy layup for Reneau on the first possession. Sandfort answers with a contested three, but Mgbako responds right back with a three of his own. Quick pace to start. IU leads 5-3.
7:02 p.m. – Kel'el Ware wins the tip and we're under way.
6:59 p.m. – Officials for tonights are DJ Carstensen, Bart Lenox and Terry Oglesby.
6:38 p.m. – Indiana's starters for tonight are Xavier Johnson, Trey Galloway, Mackenzie Mgbako, Malik Reneau and Kel'el Ware. This has not been Indiana's starting five since Jan. 9 at Rutgers. For Iowa, it's Tony Perkins, Josh Dix, Payton Sandfort, Owen Freeman and Ben Krikke.
6:32 p.m. – Iowa has been a tough matchup for Indiana in recent seasons, going 4-0 against the Hoosiers with Mike Woodson coaching. Last season, the Hawkeyes handed Indiana a 90-68 loss at Assembly Hall, perhaps the Hoosiers worst loss of the season. While Kris Murray is no longer on the team, Iowa guards Tony Perkins and Payton Sandfort had big games last season, scoring 16 points apiece. Sandfort received a technical foul for blowing a kiss to the Assembly Hall crowd late in the game after making a three.
Indiana center Kel'el Ware warms up before the Hoosiers' game against Iowa on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Ware missed the previous two games with an ankle injury, but he's active tonight.
5:54 p.m. – Kel'el Ware was in uniform and a full participant for warmups, so it looks like he's officially good to go tonight. Indiana could really use his defense against offensively skilled Iowa forwards Ben Krikke (15.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 56.0 FG%) and Owen Freeman (11.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 64.3 FG%).
4:40 p.m. – On the pregame availability report, Kel'el Ware is listed questionable. For Iowa, Patrick McCaffery (9.2 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 26.5 3-pt FG%) and Ladji Dembele (2.1 ppg, 2.2 rpg) are listed questionable.
4 p.m. – Indiana center Kel'el Ware is reportedly expected to play tonight against Iowa after missing the last two games, losses at Wisconsin and Illinois. That'd be a big boost for the Hoosiers, as Ware is averaging 14.5 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. He's Indiana's leading rebounder and best rim protector, while also shooting 41.7% from 3-point range.
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