Fifteen or twenty minutes before the game, the seats were completely filled, all in raucous anticipation of IU’s biggest game of this basketball season. Younger fans will no longer hear stories of Hawkeye success from long-ago, as Iowa basketball now sits atop the Big Ten conference at 10-1.
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Putative first-team All-Big Ten guard Yogi Ferrell was harassed into 2-for-12 shooting and one assist on the day, and while he was able to manufacture enough trips to the line to ensure a team-high 14 points, his inability to get into rhythm was a key factor in Iowa regaining the lead in the second half, if for only seven minutes. You know the Spartans…(3) games behind the Hoosiers but 24 spots ahead of them in the AP poll at No. 8. He was making the best decisions for the team in the second half. “Wait until this back-loaded beast of a schedule comes along”.
IN now owns nine wins over the RPI top 100, including three against the top 25-though they still do have losses against Wake Forest (132), UNLV (122), Penn State (131). They have Nebraska at home.
Next up for Iowa is a home game with Minnesota on Sunday evening.
When you watch the Hawkeyes play, it is obvious that coach Fran McCaffery has molded his players to fit the system perfectly. the Hawkeyes run their offense like clockwork and play tough team defense.
It was IU’s turn to buckle down defensively, pushing the Hoosiers back into the lead inside the penultimate media timeout of the second half. They never trailed again. “I have great belief in them”, coach Tom Crean said. I remember hearing that. “I don’t think our execution was what it’s been and you can’t beat a team of this caliber unless you are executing better”. “It was excruciatingly loud”.
These teams began to go back and forth blow for blow until the big turning point in this game.
But look at the stat sheet. All 10 IN players who played scored. Zeisloft has 45 3-pointers – second behind Ferrell’s 52 – and had 15 points on five 3-pointers when the Hoosiers suffered a 77-63 loss to Iowa last season. After five minutes, he had four points and five rebounds, which was Hoosier good. Duke averaged more than 1.5 points per possession. He made eight of them and scored a game-high 24 points. The Hoosiers went 18-for-21 from the charity stripe, while the Hawkeyes were just 13-for-23. This team just needs to bring it mentally in every game. And that was smart.
So, a major objective over the final seven games is to get confidence infused for a pair of freshmen who’ve shown promise in practice but are rushing in games – 6-6 winger Davis Zemgulis (.263 on 38 3PA) and 6-3 Williamsport product Isaiah Washington (.147 on 34 3PA). He’s got a first-year Hoosier in Bielfeldt.
The victory was the first for IN this season against a ranked opponent and just the second time the Hoosiers faced a ranked foe.
Crean doesn’t want to hear, or certainly say, that the injury to James Blackmon, Jr. altered the defensive mindset of his team, forcing OG Anunoby and Juwan Morgan to grow up quickly. It’s the gospel truth. They’re getting really good play from a lot of different people.
“I’ve got to thank our crowd”, Crean said.
“We played with really strong grit which these guys are learning what that’s all about”.
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When it was over, Crean – now the universally beloved Crean just months after being the widely despised Crean – made his way toward the tunnel and then stopped. And it’s a credit to the unbelievable student section.
