Indiana Basketball: Hoosiers use hot start to blow past Iowa

The Indiana basketball program ended a four-game skid with a huge win over No. 21 Iowa, the fourth-ranked win of the season.

Just a month ago, Indiana basketball was firmly in the NCAA Tournament field while sitting in the top-5 of the Big Ten. Flash forward to Thursday and the Hoosiers were on a four-game losing streak and barely sitting on the right side of the bubble. All of that went away, however, as the Hoosiers took down No. 21 Iowa 89-77.

In what was their most important game of the season, the Hoosiers came out firing on all cylinders, jumping out to a double-digit lead just halfway through the first half. Led by Devonte Green who made four straight threes in a four-minute span to spark IU’s run, the senior guard had 18 of his team-high 27 points in the first half.

It wasn’t just Green who was making, though. Altogether, Indiana shot 11-of-21 from deep, a season-high for made threes this year.

Indiana would stretch the lead to 20 early in the second half and despite a few mini-runs from the Hawkeyes, were always in control. One way they did it was on the boards. Struggling in the four-game losing streak to be an effective rebounding team, Indiana outrebounded Iowa 38-28 with 15 offensive rebounds as well.

Luka Garza continued his exceptional play this season, most likely locking up Big Ten Player of the Year, by scoring 38 points on the night. despite his strong performance, the quartet of Trayce Jackson-Davis, Joey Brunk, De’Ron Davis, and Race Thompson made life difficult on the junior forward all night long.

Jackson-Davis added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hoosiers, while Rob Phinisee chipped in 12.

Another nice addition was the play of Race Thompson. Someone who has always been productive when healthy, which hasn’t been too often, Thompson tied his career-high with 10 points.

Indiana now heads on the road for four of the next five games, starting with a trip to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines on Sunday.