Hoosier Basketball closer to a Hard Spot than a Rock

By Nick Jenkinson/Excel H Sports

   The #27 Excel H Sports Ranked Iowa Hawkeyes snapped a three-game losing streak taking down the Indiana Hoosiers 74-57 Saturday Afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. Iowa improves to 13-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten. The Hawkeyes get their first road win of the year in the Big Ten and will host Rutgers on Tuesday Night at 8:30 PM. Indiana drops to 12-6 overall and 3-4 in the Big Ten as Hoosiers are on a three-game losing streak. Indiana travels to Michigan on Tuesday Night and remains on the road Friday at Rutgers.

  The game was tied one time at 2-2 a minute and six seconds into the game and Iowa never trailed. The Hawkeyes led 38-28 at halftime and outscored the Hoosiers 36-29 in the second half. This is the fourth game this season the Hoosiers have scored less than 65 points and have lost all four games as the Hawkeyes hold the Hoosiers a season low 57 points.

  Bennett Stirtz led Iowa with 27 points as Transfer from Drake went 7-13 from the field, 5-11 from three-point range and 10-11 from the free throw line and added 5 assists and 3 rebounds. No matter who was 6-4 guard from Liberty, Missouri he was able to do what he wanted knocking down tough shots and getting himself to free throw line making the Hoosiers pay.

  Tavion Banks added 26 points, going 8-12 from the field, 1-2 from three-point range and 9-9 from the free throw line. Sage Tate scored 7 points, Cam Manyawu added 6 points, Kael Combs scored 5 points, and Isaiah Howard added 3 points. Iowa finished 23-46 from the field for 50%, 7-19 from three-point range for 36% and 21-23 from the free throw line for 93%. Iowa pulled down 28 rebounds, dished out 15 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal and 8 turnovers. Iowa had 28 points in the paint, 17 points off turnovers and 10 bench points.

  Tayton Conerway led Indiana with 16 points and with 10:49 left in the game he was down on the floor grabbing his ankle and hopped on one leg to bench and returned with 8:59 left in the game and did not score after he returned. Sam Alexis scored 13 points and pulled down 8 rebounds. Lamar Wilkerson added 9 points, Tucker DeVries added 7 points, Reed Bailey scored 4 points, Conor Enright and Nick Dorn scored 3 points each and Trent Sisley added 2 points.

  Indiana finished 20-52 from the field for 38%, 6-24 from three-point range for 25% and 11-15 from the field for 73%. The Hoosiers pulled down 27 rebounds, dished out 9 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 9 turnovers. Indiana had 28 points in the paint, 9 bench points and 6 points off turnovers. Conerway had 10 points in the first half as the Hoosiers were 12-30 from the field for 40%, 4-13 from three-point range for 30% and 0-2 from the free throw line. Indiana had 13 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block, 4 Turnovers 16 Points in the Paint in the first half.

  Iowa set the tone early with hard screens that the Hoosiers, especially Conor Enright, had to fight through. Bennett Stirz scored the first basket of the game and matched the 27 points he had against UCLA on January 3, in a 74-61 win over the Bruins. The Hawkeyes were 13-24 from the field for 54% 5-10 from three-point range for 50% and 7-9 from the free throw line for 77%. Iowa pulled down 17 Rebounds, 8 Assists, 3 Blocks, 1 Steal, 6 Turnovers and 14 Points in the Paint in the first half.

  Iowa has won two in a row against the Hoosiers three of the last four meetings in the series that Indiana leads 107-84 and 62-32 all-time in Bloomington. Indiana had a few scoreless droughts in the game that were hard to overcome. Iowa was 14-14 from the free throw line in the second half as Stritz and Banks were a combined 12-12 and Sage added the other two free throws. The Hoosiers are in a tough spot losing three straight one giving up a 16-point lead in the second half to Nebraska and followed by blowout losses to Michigan State and Iowa by a combined 38 points.

  Indiana has been using an eight-player rotation for most of the season Head Coach Darian DeVries was questioned after the game if fatigue is setting in during this tough stretch of the season. “It’s been pretty similar, and we’ve got to figure out a way to get a little more rest probably for those guys. As we get into the middle of the second half, there’s 10, 12 minutes to go — and it’s been consistent the last three games, we look fatigued. That’s where some of that may be sloppiness and the turnovers, and that’s where you start to see some of that showing up.”

  DeVries defended the fatigue factor that is not just its team is across the board in College Basketball. “For us, other guys play 35 minutes too on other teams. I’m not giving our guys that are playing heavy minutes there’s some fight through fatigue that has to happen as well, and that’s something we’ve got to be able to do.”

  Indiana must figure it out with 13 more conference games left if they want to make a run towards the Big Ten Tournament and they have now lost two in a row home which is an issue. “I just don’t think we found a rhythm early on like we needed to. I know we needed to get our 3-pointers some better shot attempts because shooting the ones off the screen are a little tough. Just got to get back to the drawing board and figure it out” Tayton Conerway said after the game.

   Sam Alexis is not concerned with the Hoosiers losing streak now. “I think we’re still going to go out there and play hard every game. It’s early. We’ve still got, what, 13 more games left. I feel like we’re going to pick it back up. So, we’re going to be good” Alexis Said after the game.