Indiana came into its matchup against Iowa 13-3, though all three of those losses came in blowout fashion. It was no different against the Hawkeyes, as the Hoosiers lost, and lost big once again in the Mike Woodson era.
Indiana fell to Iowa 85-60, its largest defeat in Big Ten regular season play in the Woodson's four year tenure, marking new territory, even for a team as prone to losing large the Hoosiers of recent years.
IU has now lost four games by 15-plus this season. In the 31 Big Ten regular season losses it has suffered under Woodson, 12 of them have come by 15 or more points, a staggering number that just added another tally following Indiana's road trip to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
It wasn't apparent after the first 15 or so minutes, as the Hoosiers were actually ahead after a back-and-forth start to this one. Then, things took a turn for the worse.
As a three point lead with six minutes left in the first half evaporated, it quickly turned into a 10-point lead for Iowa at the halftime break. Then, it turned into a 21-point Iowa lead just five minutes into the second half.
When presented with adversity, Indiana wasn't able to fight back. Instead, the Hoosiers allowed things to snowball.
Unfortunately for Hoosier fans, losing by large margins isn't new for Indiana under Woodson.
Turnovers were a major issue from the jump, as Indiana turned it over five times before the under-16 timeout, three of which came on three straight possessions, and all from Oumar Ballo.
Indiana turned it over four more times in the closing minutes of the first half when Iowa was making its run. The giveaways directly correlated to Iowa going on an 18-5 run to end the first frame.
"The turnovers didn’t help. And then not getting back, I thought our shot selection was terrible tonight" Woodson said postgame.
The Hoosiers' 16 turnovers were a problem the entire game but, especially when the Hawkeyes continued to build on their large lead.
Turnovers weren't the only issue though, as rebounding and defense were also major points of concern throughout the game but, again, especially as this one was getting out of hand in the second half.
In the second half, Iowa turned its 10-point halftime lead into a 21-point advantage in just five minutes, and that 25-point advantage into a 30-point lead for parts of the final 10 minutes.
Iowa got the best of Indiana on Saturday, winning the rebounding battle 37-31, despite the Hoosiers' size advantage. The Hawkeyes looked like the team that wanted it more from start to finish.
"We can’t have games like that when we get out on the road. We got to consistently put yourself in position where you’ve got a shot in winning a basketball game and we didn’t give ourselves a chance tonight," Woodson said, reiterating his team's struggles and how he believes they can't be afforded in a game like this.
Woodson is certainly right, as his team let Iowa walk all over it once the Hawkeyes got a lead, showing a lack of drive in the Hoosiers to fight back after falling behind.
With a huge lead and not much time remaining, Iowa took its foot off the gas a bit, not pushing this game as far as it possibly could've gone.
That played into Indiana's favor. It made the loss look a little less striking. Although a 25-point defeat is still a 25-point defeat, it could've been 35-plus, and that's because of how poor Indiana looked for the majority of the second half.
The Hoosiers weren't taking good shots, they weren't rebounding and they weren't playing as a cohesive unit, guard Myles Rice explaining that "one thing led to another and it kept on going all night."
Indiana's current average margin of defeat is 21.5 points, a number that may trump the Hoosiers' modest record of 13-4 in terms of NCAA Tournament discussions.
While it's only January, and it's still early, Indiana's loss at Iowa may be once that sticks with the Hoosiers for awhile. As they've proven time and time again that when they get down, they let the game get out of hand—something that won't fly in the new age of advanced metrics.
The Hoosiers are talented, which will allow them to pick up wins down the stretch, but there will be games where the other teams go on runs just like Iowa did, and IU needs to respond better if it wants to end up with victories instead of 25-point losses.
Indiana will need to get things going against another team coming off a disappointing loss, as Indiana will welcomes Illinois to Assembly Hall on Tuesday, with a shot at bouncing back in a big way against one of the top teams in the conference.
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