Published Jan 13, 2022
23 turnovers bury Indiana as Hoosiers fall 83-74 on the road to Iowa
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Trevor Gersmehl  •  Hoosier Huddle
Staff Writer
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Indiana played a competitive game on the road against Iowa, but 23 turnovers halted their chances of victory, resulting in an 83-74 loss.

Indiana came into tonight's matchup as a top-10 defense nationally, while Iowa came in as a top-5 offense. Pregame speculation centered on which philosophy would dictate the game Thursday night.

It became apparent early that pace and scoring would be the story. The pace of the game was breakneck fast and the Hoosiers played into it instead of attempting to slow things down.

The Hoosiers and Hawkeyes traded baskets out of the gate, but Indiana began to pull away after an 8-0 run put them ahead 23-16 with 12-minutes left in the first half. Iowa star and number one scorer in the country Keegan Murray found himself in foul trouble after picking up two early calls. This forced him to miss some time to avoid picking up a third foul, which played a factor in Indiana's run.

However, Iowa would respond with a 12-0 run of their own thanks to Kris Murray. Keegan's brother took over and played like he was the All-American, scoring 17 points in the first half alone and keeping his team afloat.

Indiana went into the half ahead 48-41 and the game would remain close for the majority of the second half. Keegan Murray picked up his fourth foul with 11 minutes remaining was once again forced to sit, but his team was relatively unaffected.

Iowa continued to trick Indiana into poor decisions and capitalized to take a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining. The Hoosiers would hang around the remainder of the game but could not trim the lead.

Despite the loss, Indiana's frontcourt was once again a major positive. Trayce Jackson-Davis led the team with 18 points and also grabbed 11 rebounds. Race Thompson chimed in with 13 points of his own while also playing solid defense.

However, most of the narratives stemming from the loss are negative. After steadily decreasing their turnover numbers over the past five games, the Hoosiers once again became too generous with the ball and it cost them the game. The speedy pace of the game forced Indiana to make some rash decisions.

If Indiana finishes the game with half as many turnovers as they recorded, they likely walk out victorious.

After putting together a great performance against Minnesota, Johnson and Phinisee were non-factors. They combined to score just nine points on a combined 3-for-12 shooting and accounted for eight of the team's turnovers.

Indiana was outscored 34-18 on points off of turnovers and 21-2 in the second half. The Hoosiers were also out rebounded 35-31, included 22-15 after halftime. That led to a 16-9 edge on second-chance points.

Indiana's superb defense did not travel to Iowa City. Despite Keegan Murray only playing 22 minutes due to foul trouble, the Hawkeyes still managed to do almost anything they wanted on offense. The Hoosiers could not contain Kris Murray, who came into the game averaging 9.4 points per game but finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

Parker Stewart added 11 points for Indiana and Trey Galloway finished with 10.

Iowa is a good all-around team, but the loss looks more grim considering the Hawkeyes were without their All-American for long stretches of the game.

The Hoosiers remain winless on the road, but they will have another opportunity Monday at Nebraska.

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