Another loss, yet this feels different for Iowa

IOWA CITY — Iowa senior Jarrod Uthoff can relate to a basketball world where any loss is an 'F' and victories aren't necessarily 'A's.'

In an absolute society, Iowa's men's basketball team failed yet again, losing 81-78 to outright Big Ten champion Indiana on Tuesday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was the Hawkeyes' fourth straight defeat and fifth in six games.

'A loss is a loss. It feels terrible either way,' said Uthoff, who scored 18 points. 'I can't go judging one on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad is. A loss is a 10 every time.'

Moral victories were exhausted for this program about four years ago and nothing Tuesday night suggested this was any different. The Hawkeyes (20-9, 11-6 Big Ten) still harbored Big Ten title dreams entering their home finale against the Hoosiers (24-6, 14-3). Indiana's offensive arsenal buried Iowa for the game's first 25 minutes, where it built a 14-point lead and shot 60 percent from the floor.

Then Iowa fought back, especially on defense. The Hawkeyes held Indiana to 3-of-13 shooting over the final 12 minutes. They outscored the Hoosiers 25-14 over than span, took a pair of leads and were four inches from sending the game into overtime on a short 3-point attempt from guard Peter Jok.

The fight Iowa displayed was a positive. The result was a negative.

'I don't get a positive vibe right now because I'm mad we lost, OK?' Uthoff said. 'But you can take away positives; that's a good thing about it. That we showed that toughness, we fought back from a 14-point deficit, had a chance to go in overtime.'

Uthoff's teammates were equally disappointed with the outcome. Center Adam Woodbury admitted there are some takeaways the team can use moving forward, but conceded, 'I hate to lose.'

'No matter what, we still have to win,' Woodbury said. 'No good losses in any sport. If you're thinking about that, you've already defeated yourself. It's all about winning the game whatever way you can.'

Woodbury, who grabbed 11 rebounds, gave Iowa one final chance in the final seconds. With the Hawkeyes trailing by three, guard Anthony Clemmons' 3-point attempt missed the rim. The ball fell straight to Woodbury, who immediately called timeout. There were 2.1 seconds left, which allowed for Jok to shoot the final 3-pointer.

'We practice that situation a lot, so I knew how many timeouts we had left, and I knew we needed a 3,' Woodbury said. 'So it would have done me no good to put that up. I knew where I was on the court, and I knew what we needed.'

A. Clemmons missed Three Point Jumper. - ESPN Video

2H (0:02) IOWA Anthony Clemmons missed Three Point Jumper.

It was a play that could have changed the game. Instead, Clemmons said, it might alter the course of Iowa's season.

'Those type of plays right there, that's what championship teams do,' Clemmons said. 'You're able to recognize the clock situation and you call the timeout and we get a wide-open look in the corner for one of our best shooters. So, plays like those down the stretch are really important. You never know when we're going to need situations like that again.'

The game itself was unlike Iowa's losses to Penn State, Wisconsin and Ohio State where the Hawkeyes were outplayed and outfought. In those games, they appeared apprehensive and lacked energy. Against Indiana, they were aggressive.

'I think we executed,' Clemmons said. 'Our effort was there. We just came up a little short. We didn't play like this versus Wisconsin or Ohio State.'

'We had a chance to win the game, and that's all you can ask for in every game,' Iowa guard Mike Gesell said. 'Indiana's one of the best teams in the country, and so are we. We battled down to the wire, and we had our chances to win it.'

Iowa plays at Michigan (20-10, 10-7) on Saturday. Another defeat would further send the Hawkeyes down the Big Ten staircase, possibly as low as eighth. In the big picture, that would register as a collapse. Just five weeks ago Iowa was ranked third nationally. Tuesday's result was yet another defeat, but the team's performance was one that Coach Fran McCaffery believes will turn around the season.

'I think we already have,' he said.

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