No. 22 Indiana stops No. 5 Iowa

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Iowa fizzled, then it sizzled. Then it fell apart.

In a game where it took 10 minutes to find their defense, the No. 5 Hawkeyes fought from a 16-point deficit to lead for most of the second half before gassing out in an 85-78 loss at No. 22 Indiana Thursday night.

The defeat puts Iowa (19-5, 10-2) in a three-way tie for first place with the Hoosiers (19-5, 10-2) and No. 2 Maryland (22-3, 10-5). Ironically, the last time Iowa started Big Ten play 10-1 in 1981-82, it suffered a mid-February loss at Indiana.

Before the most raucous atmosphere it has faced all year, Iowa's defense was two steps behind the Indiana offense from the opening tip. The Hoosiers hit Iowa with a barrage from which it took the Hawkeyes most of the first half to recover. The Hoosiers scored on six consecutive possessions to lead 18-10. Indiana crushed the Hawkeyes on the boards, grabbing 12 of the game's first 17 rebounds. Of the Hoosiers' 18 points, 10 were second-chance opportunities.

The Hoosiers extended their overall run to 20-4 and led 25-10 with 10:14 left in the first half. Iowa was caught flat-footed on defense. Even when Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff cut into Indiana's lead with a layup and 3-pointer, the Hoosiers bounced back with a pair of big plays. First, Nick Zeisloft drilled a 3-pointer to put Indiana ahead 33-20. Then on Iowa's next possession, Hoosiers forward Collin Hartman blocked Uthoff's offering at the rim and then hit another 3-pointer to put Indiana up 36-20 with 6 minutes left. Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery called a timeout and lit into his team.

It seemed to work. Iowa scored on its final eight possessions of the half, highlighted by a pair of Peter Jok 3-pointers. The Hawkeyes cut their deficit to 43-38 with 6 seconds to go, but Jok was whistled for a flagrant foul on Indiana point guard Yogi Ferrell with 0.2 seconds left in the half. Ferrell converted both, and the Hoosiers led 45-38 at halftime.

Iowa opened the second half strong on 9-0 run to take a 47-45 lead. The Hawkeyes scored on 13 consecutive possessions, stretching from McCaffery's timeout. The Hoosiers missed four shots and had two turnovers in their first six possessions. Iowa countered with layups from Jok and Mike Gesell, as well as a dunk from Uthoff.

Iowa led 60-56 with 9:35 left in the game, but Indiana's offense became ruthlessly efficient. The Hoosiers scored on six consecutive trips en route to a 14-2 run. A traditional three-point play by Troy Williams followed by a Ferrell 3-pointer put Indiana up 70-62. The Hawkeyes cut their deficit to 70-66, but Indiana converted five consecutive free throws while Iowa countered with a turnover and a missed jumper to boost the Hoosiers' lead to nine.

Iowa trailed by seven with 45 seconds left but climbed back within three points on an Adam Woodbury putback and a pair of free throws from Gesell. A Hartman dunk with 13.4 seconds left virtually iced the game.

Uthoff led all scorers with 24 points. Gesell scored 17, and Woodbury had 13 points and 15 rebounds. Ferrell scored 14 for the Hoosiers but was 2 of 12 from the field. He converted all eight free-throw opportunities. Indiana was 18 of 21 from the free-throw line, while Iowa was 13 of 23.

The Hawkeyes return home at 6:30 p.m. Sunday to play Minnesota (6-18, 0-12).