Indiana and Iowa have given their fans some bad basketball this season, but on Saturday, the two teams hooked up for a dandy in Bloomington, with the Hawkeyes eventually squeaking by with a 64-63 win.
Iowa (10-13, 3-8) was led by freshman Melsahn Basabe, who finished with a big effort of 20 points and 13 rebounds on the afternoon. Bryce Cartwright chipped in 15 points on 5-11 shooting and Eric May added double figure scoring with 11 points. All five Iowa starters played at least 30 minutes.
Indiana (12-12, 3-8) got a 24 point night from Jordan Hulls, who led all scorers with a 10-17 shooting night. Will Sheehey chipped in 12 and Victor Oladipo added a dozen as well. Verdell Jones III, who has been battling injury lately, came off the bench to score only two points, though he did grab five rebounds.
The teams played a relatively close first half before the Hoosiers closed on a little bit of a run to grab a 33-28 lead before the break. Indiana pushed its lead to as many as 10 with about eight minutes to play, but Iowa stormed back to trade the lead in the final minutes. In the end, Bryce Cartwright's jumper with 1:29 to play proved to be the dagger as the Hoosiers couldn't respond, and the Hawkeyes got their first road win of the season.
Iowa dominated the boards through much of the game and won the battle of the glass 30-22. The Hawkeyes also outshot the Hoosiers 47%-41% but 17 turnovers plagued Iowa and almost sunk its efforts on the road.
Both teams now prepare for ranked foes in their next games. Indiana will travel to No. 10 Purdue on Tuesday to try and grab an upset road win against the Boilermakers. Iowa will host No. 18 Wisconsin on Wednesday night as the Hawkeyes try to keep their momentum going, now winners of three of their last five.