Indiana Basketball: Iowa Hawkeyes Game Preview, Projected Lineups, Ways to Watch, Odds
By Jordan Maly
After a much need weekend off from hoops, the Indiana Hoosiers head to Iowa City for a matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes.
The Hoosiers used this weekend as a way to hit the reset button. Indiana has lost four straight games coming into tonight’s matchup in Iowa City. The Hoosiers playing without O.G. Anunoby have lost six of their last seven games.
The NCAA tournament implications seem like a pipe dream at this point. The remaining schedule is not so forgiving for Indiana either. The Hoosiers play three of their remaining four games on the road, including a matchup at Mackey Arena on February 28th. A win tonight could give Hoosiers a break from calling for Tom Crean’s job and enjoy sound basketball for a change.
Indiana has won their previous two games at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and look to capitalize on that momentum tonight. The Hawkeyes come into the game with a 14-13 record and 6-8 in the Big Ten Conference. The Hawkeyes have one of the best scoring threats in the Big Ten in senior guard Peter Jok. The Hoosier will have an awfully tough time containing Jok, who is averaging 20.4 points per game this season. His most recent standout game coming in a double-overtime loss to Minnesota, a game in which he scored 28 points.
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Indiana’s James Blackmon Jr. along with Iowa’s Peter Jok are among the ten finalists for the Jerry West Award. This honor is given to the best shooting guard in the country. The game itself should be quite entertaining, two of the best guards in the Big Ten squaring off. Both teams do not seem to be playing for all that much, although Indiana does have a hail-mary chance to still be one of the last four teams in.
Iowa has struggled recently, losing three of their last four games. Those losses have come to teams Indiana has beaten this year including Illinois and Michigan State.
Here are projected starting lineups with statistics courtesy of the Big Ten Conference.
8th. Big Ten Conference Team Statistics – Scoring: 79.9 (3rd); Defense: 77.6 (14th); FG%: 44.6% (9th); 3-pt. FG%: 35.9% (7th); Rebounding Margin: -0.6 (12th). (14-13, 6-8). No. 120 in NCAA RPI rankings. IOWA HAWKEYES
Projected Starting Lineup
Peter Jok (G): 20.4 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 2.8 APG, 42.9 FG%
Jordan Bohannon (G): 9.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 2.8 APG, 35.4 FG%
Isaiah Moss (G): 6.8 PPG, 1.6 RPG, 0.8 APG, 42.6 FG%
Nicholas Baer (F): 6.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 1.9 APG, 41.0 FG%
Tyler Cook (F): 11.7 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.0 APG, 52.7 FG%
Big Ten Conference Team Statistics – Scoring: 80.3 (2nd); Defense: 71.7 (11th); FG%: 48.1% (2nd); 3 Pt. FG%: 37.4 (4th); Rebounding Margin: +8.1 (3rd).. (15-12, 5-9). No. 90 in NCAA RPI rankings. INDIANA HOOSIERS. 11th
Projected Starting Lineup
Josh Newkirk (G): 8.7 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 43.3 FG%
James Blackmon Jr. (G): 17.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.8 APG, 47.0 FG%
Robert Johnson (G): 13.2 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.2 APG, 46.0 FG%
Juwan Morgan (F): 7.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 1.1 APG, 52.3 FG%
Thomas Bryant (C): 13.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 1.3 APG, 53.3 FG%
One last shot at it…
While it does not seem like many have put Indiana in their NCAA tournament predictions (rightfully so), they have not yet been counted out. ESPN’s Eamon Brennan said in an article today that Indiana is “most likely done, barring something extraodinary”. Most likely, does not mean they are. For the few hopeful Hoosiers fans out there, it all starts with a win tonight. If by some miracle Indiana pulls off a string of four straight wins to end the season, it could land them back in the conversation. The bubble teams being considered are weak and with two top-3 wins in their pocket the Hoosiers could slide into the conversation. All of that nullified if the Hoosiers drop their fifth-straight game.