Iowa Runs Indiana Out of Assembly Hall, Hoosiers Suffer 90-68 Loss

Trayce Jackson-Davis called it a defensive meltdown from Indiana on Tuesday, as the Hoosiers lost 90-68 on their home court against the Iowa Hawkeyes. It was a big missed opportunity for Indiana's hopes of securing a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament.

Jack Ankony | Feb 28, 2023

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Iowa ran Indiana off its home court from the opening tip.

The Hoosiers had no answer for Iowa's 3-point shooting or its drives to the basket, and the result was a 90-68 Indiana loss on Tuesday night at Assembly Hall. After a big win at No. 5 Purdue on Saturday, Indiana coach Mike Woodson was obviously disappointed after this loss.

"Not real happy," Woodson said. "We left our game in West Lafayette, and it's just unacceptable the way we played tonight. I apologize to our fans. I'm the coach, I've got to get them ready to play. That was a bullshit performance tonight."

With this loss, Indiana moves to 20-10 overall and 11-8 in Big Ten Play. A win would have put Indiana in prime position for a double-bye in the Big Ten tournament, but things become more complicated now. Maryland, Northwestern and Michigan are 11-7 in conference play, and the Wolverines come to Assembly Hall on Sunday for Indiana's Senior Night.

That game will take a much more focused effort from Indiana, especially on the defensive end, after what took place on Tuesday. Iowa set the tone early, jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Senior Trayce Jackson-Davis said Indiana's poor defensive effort allowed Iowa's Kris Murray to get going early on, and that can't happen against a player of his caliber.

Indiana coach Mike Woodson called a timeout after Kris Murray hit a pair of 3-pointers less than two minutes into that game, but nothing he said could solve Iowa's high-flying offense. Despite Indiana's efforts to slow down the game, the Hawkeyes were able to consistently push the pace.

"They had their way doing anything they wanted to do," Woodson said.

Jackson-Davis led an Indiana run that cut the deficit to four points midway through the first half, but Iowa responded with a 10-0 run of its own to regain control. By halftime, Iowa connected on 7-of-12 3-point attempts and led Indiana by 11 points.

The Hoosiers came out of the locker room with energy and a full court press, and a comeback looked possible for a moment. Jackson-Davis got an easy dunk after stealing the inbounds pass, and Trey Galloway forced a second turnover on a similar play out of Indiana's press. Indiana trimmed Iowa's lead to single-digits with momentum from a loud Assembly Hall crowd, but those comeback aspirations were short-lived.

Iowa's offensive onslaught continued throughout the second half, and the Indiana defense was a step slow all night. An 11-0 Iowa run pushed the lead to 21 points at the 15:43 mark of the second half, silencing the Indiana fanbase. The Hawkeyes led by 19 or more points for the remainder of the second half, and there was nothing Indiana could do to stop them.

"I thought we prepared, they just competed," Woodson said. "They came in here and kicked our ass. It was just that simple."

As a team, Iowa finished 13-for-26 from 3-point range and shot 55.6 percent overall. Murray led the Hawkeyes with 26 points on 9-for-16 shooting and five 3-pointers. Indiana tried a variety of defenders on Murray, but no one could contest his outside shots or drives through the lane.

Indianapolis native Tony Perkins was close behind Murray, scoring 23 points on 7-for-12 shooting with 10 rebounds and eight assists. He was 1-for-2 from beyond the arc and crushed the Hoosiers with tough finishes near the basket.

Filip Rebraca stepped up in a tough matchup against Jackson-Davis, scoring 16 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. Payton Sandfort provided a huge spark off the bench by knocking down 5-of-9 3-point attempts to finish with 16 points. Woodson called the defensive effort from Indiana "non-existent."

"Nothing that we did defensively that we worked on worked," Woodson said. "We weren't there for some reason, and I've got to figure it out."

On the other end, there was a stark contrast in Jalen Hood-Schifino's performance on Tuesday compared to his 35-point effort to defeat Purdue. Hood-Schifino didn't score until the 3:58 mark of the first half, and he was held scoreless in the second half. Hood-Schifino finished with eight points on 4-for-14 shooting with five rebounds, two assists and one turnover.

Jackson-Davis continued to produce gaudy numbers, but it wasn't enough to keep the Hoosiers competitive. With 26 points, 13 rebounds, five assists and four steals, Jackson-Davis passed Alan Henderson to become Indiana's all-time leading rebounder.

Malik Reneau added 10 points off the bench, followed by seven points from Trey Galloway, but the Hoosiers' supporting cast was largely non-existent, as well. As a team, Indiana shot 2-for-11 from 3-point range and was out-rebounded by Iowa 39-27.

With a crucial matchup against Michigan on Sunday, Woodson's not letting his team forget about this one.

"I never let a game go unnoticed," Woodson said. "You've got to look at it and learn from it. But you've got to go back to work. We have tomorrow off, and Thursday we'll be back to work."

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