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Indiana travels to Iowa on Thursday night for a showdown against an Iowa team that has a lot of firepower despite its 1-3 record in Big Ten play.
The Hawkeyes have the leading scorer in the country with Keegan Murray (24.7 ppg) and have five players averaging at least eight points per game.
Currently, IU is on a three-game winning streak against Iowa and look for another win on Thursday with a roster and system that is quite different than the team Iowa saw in the previous three matchups.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery discussed Indiana with the media on Tuesday.
"I've been really impressed with (Indiana)," McCaffery said. "They're deep, and I think Trayce is playing at an all-American level. Veteran group; they have some new guys, but they have guys that have been there. They're all playing well. A lot of different guys on any given day can hurt you."
Indiana has already equaled its win total from the 2020-21 season and a lot of that has to do with head coach Mike Woodson and what he has instilled into this team just a little over two months into the 2021-22 season.
The Hoosiers sit at 12-3 (3-2) and are riding a two-game winning streak. They are led by All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis who is averaging 19.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game. But, what shouldn't go unnoticed is the underrated play of the other member of the Indiana frontcourt, Race Thompson.
Thompson is averaging 10.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He is also shooting 58.6 percent from the field. All of those numbers are career highs.
"Race Thompson is playing at a whole 'nother level," McCaffery said. "You saw that last year with Race. He really took a big step, became one of the better players in our league, playing great."
Indiana's backbone is its defense. It currently ranks first in the Big Ten and second in the country in field goal percentage defense (35.3%) and leads the league in scoring defense (60.8). In conference play alone, IU leads in scoring defense (58.2) and field goal percentage defense (36.7%) and is second in 3-point field goal defense (28.6%).
"I don't know if it's that much different," McCaffery said about IU's style of play. "Obviously he (Mike Woodson) put his stamp on it. It's a team that really competes defensively."
Offensively, IU has improved its shooting with the additions of Miller Kopp and Parker Stewart. As a team they are shooting 35 percent from deep -- up from the mid 20's average over the past four years.
"Offensively, they're focused a lot on Trayce, but there is a lot of other guys, they have a lot other weapons," McCaffery added. "Stewart can hit threes, Kopp is a veteran guy, Johnson, Phinisee, you can keep going, Galloway. So they attack you. They have athletes. They legitimately go 12-deep."
Indiana seeks its first road victory on Thursday in Iowa City.
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