Iowa-Indiana game postponed

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Tonight's Iowa-Indiana men's basketball game was postponed after a metal plate fell from the ceiling and into seats at Assembly Hall's lower bowl.

Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery and Indiana Coach Tom Crean shake hands on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010, at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa. (Brian Ray/The Gazette-KCRG)

According to Indiana officials, about 2:30 p.m. ET, a metal facing (about eight feet long by 14 inches wide), fell and damaged seats in the lower part of Section F, which is located in the northwest corner of the building. The game was scheduled for 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.

No makeup time, date or location has been set.

"Safety is our No.1 priority," Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass said in a statement. "Our university engineers have advised us to postpone events in Assembly Hall until it can be determined what caused the facing to fall and ensure the safety of everyone attending an event in the facility."

No make-up date or location has been announced. This is the only meeting between the teams this year.

'Obviously, we are disappointed tonight's game had to be cancelled,' Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said in a statement. 'Fran and his team are in contention for a Big Ten title and were looking forward to the opportunity to getting back on the court. The most important part of this equation is safety. We are in full support of Indiana's decision to postpone the game based on the issues with Assembly Hall. Coach McCaffery and his team are returning from Indiana tonight. We are working with Indiana Athletic Director Fred Glass and the Big Ten Conference to determine when and, possibly, where to play the game.'

This is the second straight year Iowa had a road game postponed in Big Ten play. Last year Iowa's Feb. 21 game at Nebraska was pushed back to Feb. 23 because of a potential blizzard. In 2007, Iowa had a home game postponed because an ice storm prevented Northwestern from traveling.