What began as an opportunity for Indiana to solidify its resurgence devolved into a sobering reality check Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Riding high on a five-game winning streak, including three consecutive Big Ten victories, the Hoosiers were thoroughly dismantled by Iowa in an 85-60 drubbing. The defeat not only snapped Indiana’s winning streak but also cast doubt on its ability to compete in the Big Ten.
The Hoosiers’ struggles were evident from the start. Indiana had no answers for Iowa’s matchup zone defense, shooting just 40.7% from the field and an anemic 25% from beyond the arc. Matters worsened after halftime, as the Hoosiers managed just 32.4% shooting and hit only one of eight (12.5%) 3-point attempts in the second half.
“It started off slow, and it kind of was like an avalanche,” guard Myles Rice said postgame. “One thing led to another, and it kept on going all night.”
Meanwhile, Iowa thrived offensively, torching Indiana with 54.2% shooting from the floor, including an 11-of-24 (45.8%) performance from deep. Guard Payton Sandfort epitomized the Hawkeyes’ dominance, outscoring Indiana 14-10 by himself across the first eight minutes of the second half.
Turnovers proved fatal for the Hoosiers against Iowa’s high-octane attack. Indiana coughed up the ball 16 times, leading to 24 Iowa points, including 17 off 12 first-half turnovers.
“It’s just hard to play defense when you turn the ball over a lot,” Rice said. “They had a lot of advantages, and we turned the ball over a good amount of times tonight, so they were able to get out.”
Indiana’s shortcomings weren’t limited to ball security. Despite Iowa entering the game as one of the Big Ten’s weakest rebounding teams, the Hawkeyes won the battle on the boards, 37-31.
A sequence in the second half encapsulated the Hoosiers’ frustrations: Iowa collected four offensive rebounds on a single possession before converting, a moment that underscored Indiana’s lack of physicality.
“When you go out on the road in the Big Ten, you can’t turn it over, you’ve got to rebound with your opponent, and you’ve got to make shots,” head coach Mike Woodson said. “We failed in all three areas tonight.”
The Hoosiers entered Saturday’s matchup hoping to prove their recent success was more than just a product of favorable competition. Wins over Rutgers, Penn State and USC hinted at progress, but none of those teams are considered Big Ten heavyweights. Against Iowa, Indiana had a chance to show it could contend with a quality opponent on the road.
Instead, the Hoosiers looked eerily similar to the team that suffered early-season blowout losses to Louisville, Gonzaga and Nebraska.
“Our last road game was against Penn State, and I thought we competed from start to finish. Tonight, we looked totally different.” Woodson said. “We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”
Indiana’s four losses this season have come by an average of 21.5 points—a troubling pattern under Woodson’s tenure. Saturday’s result highlighted the gap between the Hoosiers and the Big Ten’s upper echelon. Even against an Iowa squad unlikely to contend for the conference title, Indiana’s inconsistency was glaring.
In moments, the Hoosiers have shown flashes of their potential. But against the Hawkeyes, they resembled the disjointed group that stumbled through early-season setbacks in The Bahamas, not the cohesive unit that had strung together three straight conference wins.
Tuesday’s home game against Illinois represents more than a chance to bounce back—it’s an opportunity for Indiana to prove that Saturday’s performance was an aberration, not the norm.
“During the five-game stretch, we were playing really good basketball,” Rice said. “Tonight, we just got a little bit outside of ourselves.”
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