IU travels to Iowa for rematch

After losing the second of two matches against No. 19 Wisconsin, the Hoosiers travel to Iowa on Sunday to take on the second-worst team in the Big Ten.

When Iowa came to Bloomington, IU — then off a road win against Penn State — shot 35.6 percent and scored only 43 points in a loss. That blemish has now ballooned into a nine-game losing streak.

Having lost three straight of their own, the Hawkeyes will be looking for an easy win against the Hoosiers.

One of the main factors in IU’s loss to Iowa earlier this year was the team’s lack of energy. And with the season winding down — the game will be the third-to-last game before the Big Ten Tournament — IU has little motivation other than pride to keep bringing its all.

Luckily for the Hoosiers, they’re going against a team ranked last in the Big Ten in scoring, that has the worst scoring margin and averages a slightly worse field-goal percentage (41.5 percent) than IU (41.8 percent). The Hawkeyes also rank ninth in points allowed per game in the conference.

But when the Hoosiers competed against Iowa in January, none of those statistics mattered. With the win, IU would have had a winning record in the Big Ten and a three-game victory streak. Instead, the Hoosiers are one loss away from slipping to 10th place in the conference.

— Zina Kumok