Iowa Comeback Falls Short at Indiana
If Iowa ends up playing the what-if game at season's end, Tuesday's loss at Indiana may start the conversation. The contest was there for the taking, but the Hawkeyes watched IU deliver the winning plays.
The Hoosiers scored the game's final eight points in a 74-68 victory at Assembly Hall. It was Iowa's third loss in the last four games as it fell to 4-6 in the Big Ten at the halfway point of the conference campaign.
Payton Sandfort looked like he was going to be one of the heroes in the contest. The final two of his game-high 26 points came on a corner jumper that put Iowa ahead 68-66 with 1:42 remaining in regulation.
Indiana (5-5 Big Ten) responded on the next possession. Backup Gabe Cupps sank a three-pointer with 1:26 on the clock putting the home team ahead, 69-68. Then Trey Galloway intercepted a pass by Hawkeye senior Tony Perkins before being fouled.
Galloway sank 1 of 2 free throws increasing the IU advantage to 70-68 with 1:11 left. Sandfort then came up well short on a jumper, the Hoosiers rebounded it and scored again to close out the game.
During a scoreless final 1:42, the Hawkeyes missed all three field-goal tries, committed a turnover and yielded an offensive rebound resulting in a dunk. A faulty finish canceled out an Iowa comeback from a 17-point deficit late in the first half.
The result also dampened the impressive performances by Sandfort and Perkins, who combined for 48 of the team's 68 points. The latter reached the 20-point mark for the fourth game in a row. The former also snagged eight rebounds in this one.
The visitors were without a bench point until freshman Brock Harding sank a pair of foul shots with eight minutes left in the game. His four points on the night represented the only ones from the Hawkeye reserves.
The Hoosiers owned the backboards, winning the rebound battle, 45-32. Iowa offset that by only committing three turnovers and making 16 of 19 free throws.
Perkins (15.5 PPG) overtook Ben Krikke (15.0) as the team's leading scorer this season. Sandfort equaled Krikke's average with his output Tuesday.
Krikke's slump continued with him scoring two points on 1 of 9 field goal shooting in 26 minutes. He missed 6 of 8 attempts in scoring seven Saturday at Michigan.
Owen Freeman dealt with foul trouble in being limited to 23 minutes Tuesday. The fabulous Iowa freshman was held to four points and two rebounds, both totals less than half of his season averages.
Josh Dix scored 10 points, the only other Hawkeye to score in double figures. He shot 3 of 8 from the field.
Indiana received 13 points from backup guard Anthony Leal, who visited Iowa during the recruiting process. He was averaging a team-low 1.8 points coming into the game.
Sophomore seven-footer Kel'el Ware netted a team-best 23 points for the Hoosiers. He grabbed seven rebounds and blocked three shots.
The Hawkeyes saw eight of their shots swatted Tuesday. Opponents have blocked 27 of their attempts during the last four contests.
