Big 10: undefeated

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- With not even two minutes gone by in the second half Sunday, the Hoosiers found themselves in a situation similar to the one they were in the last time they visited Iowa.\nA double-digit halftime lead had been cut to five, 42-37. And former Hoosier and Iowa senior guard Luke Recker was warming up after a cold first half. For a minute, IU coach Mike Davis thought he was about to relive last year's nightmare.\n"I thought, 'Here we go. (We'll) end up losing by three or four points late in the game,'" Davis said. "I know Luke Recker. But our guys kept their composure."\nAnd by keeping their composure, the Hoosiers (11-5, 4-0 Big Ten) were able to fight through a number of Iowa runs, a tough full-court press and hang on for a 77-66 win against the No. 13 Hawkeyes in front of 15,500 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. \nIn the process the Hoosiers extended their season-long winning streak to four and ended a string of six straight losses at Iowa. The Hoosiers are now 4-0 in the conference for the first time since they opened the 1992-93 Big Ten season with 13 straight wins en route to their last conference crown.\nIU beat Iowa with the same combination of offense and defense that led to the blowout of Michigan State at home last Tuesday. Sophomore guard Jared Jeffries led the Hoosiers with 26 points. Junior guard Tom Coverdale had 15 and senior guard Dane Fife and junior forward Kyle Hornsby each added 11.\nRecker finished with 12 points, 10 of which came after the break. Reggie Evans was held to just seven points, 11 below his season average. Ryan Hogan led the Hawkeyes with 15 points off the bench.\n"We didn't have the scoring punch that we usually get and the defense that we usually get in a couple of areas," Iowa coach Steve Alford said.\nWith their lead cut to five in the second half, the Hoosiers responded with a 12-2 run over the next three minutes to push their lead back to 13 with 15:19 left. Several spurts by Iowa (13-5, 2-2) the rest of the way would get the Hawkeyes no closer than eight points.\nJeffries said IU has learned from its past failings, especially the 71-66 loss at Iowa Jan. 27 last year that saw the Hoosiers squander a 17-point halftime lead.\n"We're a more mature team," he said. "We're starting to come together as a team."\nDavis also pointed to both last year and the non-conference schedule as reasons why IU held on Sunday. He said his team has learned from playing teams like Kentucky, Southern Illinois and Miami.\n"I thought there were a couple of stretches where, if this would have been the same team last year, we would have lost our composure completely," Davis said. "I think our pre-conference schedule prepared us for this. We played some pretty good basketball teams."\nAlford said Recker didn't practice all week because of a hip flexor injury and Evans missed most of practice with a head and chest cold. While Evans played 37 minutes and Recker played 35 minutes, Alford took nothing away from the Hoosiers.\n"We got out-toughed on the perimeter and we got out-toughed in the inside by Jeffries," Alford said. "They were the tougher basketball team tonight. I think they showed that in their performance tonight."\nThe Hoosiers were out-rebounded 35-32, but the Hawkeyes usually grab seven more rebounds than their opponents. Alford specifically mentioned the defense on Evans. Jeffries, senior forward Jarrad Odle and junior forward Jeff Newton helped contain Evans.\n"They played real good on me," Evans said. "Some things just weren't really falling. I just couldn't finish."\nJeffries said the plan was to get Odle on him early. Odle did well, but also picked up four fouls by the end of the game. IU was able to hold Evans to just two offensive rebounds.\n"The most important thing on him is once he shoots one shot, don't give him a second chance," Jeffries said.\nThe Hoosiers were able to build their lead midway through the first half. After Hogan gave the Hawkeyes their last lead at 22-21 with a pair of free throws with 7:03 left in the half, IU embarked on a 13-0 run to grab a 34-22 lead with 3:34 left on a lay-up by Newton.\nIn the first half the Hoosiers hit eight of 13 three-point attempts and shot almost 54 percent from the floor. Hornsby had nine of his 11 points in the first half. Alford said the combination of outside shooting and Jeffries inside was too much.\n"We wanted to try to take their three-game away but we weren't able to do that," Alford said. "We weren't able to control Jeffries in the post and that affected how we guarded the perimeter."\nThe Hawkeyes closed the lead to nine but would go to halftime down by 11, 40-29. Davis said that his team was able to hold on in such a tough environment is a credit to their toughness.\n"Our guys are playing so well right now," he said. "I don't have anything to do with how we're playing. It's the players. We're playing well"