A pair of teams from the Big Ten do battle in search of a victory in the Hawkeye State. The #15 Indiana Hoosiers are on the road as they travel to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes Thursday night. Indiana comes in off a 69-55 victory at home over Kennesaw State in their previous game on December 23 though they failed to cover the line as a 16.5-point favorite. Iowa fell 83-79 on the road at Penn State in their previous contest Sunday afternoon, failing to cover as a two-point underdog in the game. In the all-time series between the teams, the Hoosiers own a 70-60 advantage but the Hawkeyes have won the last two meetings. That includes an 80-77 win in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament on March 12, 2022.
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Indiana won their second straight game as they took down Kennesaw State in their most recent contest, though that game was nearly two weeks ago. The Hoosiers improved to 10-3 on the season and stand 1-1 in the Big Ten heading into this contest. Against Kennesaw State, Indiana trailed by seven in the first half before rallying to tie the game at 27 at intermission. The Hoosiers found themselves still tied at 43 midway through the second half before scoring six straight points to lead 49-43 with 8:41 to play. Indiana led the rest of the way and managed to pull away down the stretch for the win. The Hoosiers shot 50% from the field, including seven of 18 from three-point range, and won the rebounding battle 40-28 to help offset a 16 of 26 showing at the charity stripe. Tamar Bates led the Hoosiers with 19 points in the win.
On the season, the Hoosiers are putting up an average of 80.1 points per game o n the year, leaving them 37th in the nation in scoring offense. Indiana is collecting an average of 37.2 rebounds a night while dishing out an average of 17.3 assists per contest. The Hoosiers have been above average defensively, allowing an average of 65.3 points per contest, putting them 94th in the nation in scoring defense. Trayce Jackson-Davis leads the team with 16.4 points plus 8.2 rebounds per contest this season. He is one of two players for the Hoosiers averaging in double figures. Xavier Johnson is contributing 9.9 points plus 4.9 assists a night. Miller Kopp, Jalen Hood-Schifino (10.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.3 assists), Tamar Bates, Malik Reneau, Trey Galloway, Race Thompson, Jordan Geronimo and CJ Gunn are expected to contribute for Mike Woodson’s squad. Indiana shoots 50.7% from the floor as a team on the season, which is 6th in the country. The Hoosiers drain an average of 7.1 three-pointers a night while sinking 36.5% of their attempts from beyond the arc. Indiana has been below average at the charity stripe this season, converting 69.6% of their attempts as a team.
Johnson (foot) last played on December 17 against Kansas and has no timetable to return at this point in time. Jackson-Davis (undisclosed) has missed the last two games and is questionable for this contest.