Another Big Ten matchup between the Hoosiers and the Hawkeyes is set to begin soon. Read more for a full Indiana vs Iowa prediction and preview.
General Information:
Teams: Indiana (13-3, 4-1) and Iowa (11-4, 2-2)
Tip-Off: 7 p.m. EST
Watch: Fox
Listen: 105.1 FM in Bloomington, 93.1 FM in Indianapolis.
Latest on Indiana basketball:
The Hoosiers currently have a win streak of 5- their most recent being 3 Big Ten wins against Rutgers, Penn State, and USC. Against the Trojans, Indiana won 82-69. The team is finally coming together after a rocky start. Center Oumar Ballo sat out on Dec. 29 against Winthrop- the exact reason is unclear. Since then, he has been an absolute star for the Hoosiers. In his first game against Rutgers, the center led the team in rebounds by grabbing 12. In the past two games, he recorded the highest points for Indiana, 25 and then 23. It is no secret that Arizona transfer is a tremendous asset to this team, and eyes will be on him when he hits the court to play Iowa.
After a slower start against USC, the Hoosiers broke a poor shooting run by responding by shooting 51% of their field goals. This pattern also applied to their three-point shots as they began shooting 1-7 outside the arc; however, after shooting 35.7%. At the stripe, Indiana succeeded with 18 of their 23 FT attempts. Ballo shot 5-5 from the line, and Myles Rice recorded 9-11.
Junior forward Malik Reneau didn’t see the court against both Penn State and USC. He still suffers from an injury in the first minute against Rutgers. While this right knee injury doesn’t look like a long-term injury, it has been an unfortunate loss.
Latest on Iowa basketball:
Iowa currently has an overall record of 11-4 and a conference record of 2-2. Their latest games include a 116-85 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, and a 97-87 overtime win against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
It was unfortunate for the Hawkeyes to find themselves against the Badgers. Key player Payton Sandfort didn’t perform big, shooting 1-9. Wisconsin, on the other hand, had just had a stellar performance all around. They recorded history as they had 21 three-pointers, a record in the Big Ten for threes in a single game.
In their most recent one-point overtime win against the Huskers, Iowa had a stellar free-throw performance, shooting 22-25 (88%). They also had something to say behind the arc with 17 3-pointers.
Iowa trailed by as many as 15 points in the second half, but their three-point shots combated this deficit.
Guard Josh Dix was hot for the Hawkeyes, scoring 31 points. In this game, after his previous quiet performance against Wisconsin, Sandfort was able to switch up, scoring 30 points.
It should be a high-scoring game, appropriate for a Saturday night.
[…] was rough for the Indiana basketball squad on Saturday night as they fell to a conference opponent for the second time this season. The Hoosiers went into the half down by ten with a score of 43-33. […]