Indiana men’s basketball entered Saturday’s matchup aiming to avoid the fate of the opposing Iowa squad: a three-game losing streak.
But as the game began, the Hoosiers were stymied by an aggressive Hawkeye defense. In the early minutes, Iowa swarmed the 3-point line, giving particularly little space to the Big Ten’s 3-point leader — fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson.
Every time the Cream and Crimson were able to evade the pressure and penetrate Iowa’s defense, the Hawkeyes collapsed inside, leaving no room for easy buckets.
The Hawkeye defense held Indiana to a season-low 57 points en route to a 74-57 victory Saturday inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington.
Early in the game, Iowa built its early lead by forcing the Hoosiers’ scoring efforts to come from unconventional sources and inefficient shots. Redshirt senior guard Conor Enright attempted four 3-pointers in the first eight minutes of the game, connecting on only one. Indiana made just two of its first 14 shots from the field and entered the under-12 media timeout with just five points.
Indiana trailed by as many as 11 points in the opening frame, but as the first half went on, the Hoosiers’ offense evolved. Sixth-year senior guard Tayton Conerway spearheaded an Indiana stretch of nine consecutive field goal makes. Conerway blew by Hawkeye defenders and scored eight straight Indiana points, all at the rim.
While the run brought Indiana back within five, the Cream and Crimson couldn’t pair it with enough defensive stops to regain the lead. Hawkeye senior guard Bennett Stirtz scored 14 of his 27 points in the first half, consistently getting to the rim and drawing contact from the Hoosiers’ defense.
Despite Wilkerson connecting on his first longball of the game with 2:18 remaining in the half, the Hoosiers entered the break down by 10 and shooting just 40% from the field.
Coming out of halftime, Indiana continued to pressure the Hawkeyes and chip into the deficit. Conerway started the Hoosiers’ second half scoring with another drive to the rim, and senior forward Sam Alexis slammed home a lob from redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries.
But each time Indiana came close, Iowa responded in turn with a run of its own. Stirtz consistently slowed the Hoosiers’ momentum by getting to the free throw line, where he tallied 10 points in the game.
As Conerway continued attacking the basket, adding two more layups, the Hoosiers cut Iowa’s lead down to six at the under-12 media timeout.
With 10:49 left to play, Conerway went down as Stirtz connected on a 3-pointer and hobbled off the court. Without Conerway, Indiana’s offense stalled. After a pair of free throws from senior forward Reed Bailey, Stirtz drilled an off balance contested 3-pointer from the left wing to bring the Hawkeye lead back up to 10.
Conerway returned just two minutes later, but instantly committed a foul in the paint that sent Iowa to the line for an and-one free throw. With 7:55 to play, the Hoosiers faced a 12-point deficit — tied for their largest of the game by that point.
Indiana’s comeback effort fell short, as the Cream and Crimson couldn’t string together good possessions in the half court for the rest of the game. An inside pass from Conerway bounced off Bailey’s hands and sailed out of bounds. Later, Wilkerson launched a pass too high and out of bounds.
The onslaught of mistakes and sloppy play enabled Iowa to add to its lead for the rest of the game. A layup from Iowa senior guard/forward Tavion Banks capped a 74-57 win for the Hawkeyes, ending their three-game losing skid while handing the Hoosiers one of their own.
Indiana will look to bounce back from its string of losses in a road contest against No. 4 Michigan at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
