No. 16 Iowa in should-win mode vs. Indiana

This should be the eye of the hurricane for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Operative word: “Should.”

One Ohio State/Michigan State cycle is over. Another is looming. In the middle of that mayhem is Sunday's game against Indiana - tipoff is 1 p.m. at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

It's a game the 16th-ranked Hawkeyes (14-4 overall, 2-3 Big Ten) should win.

Operative word: “Should.”

These days, “shoulds” are a little more elusive in the Big Ten.

“There really aren't any bottom-dwellers any more,” said Iowa Coach Lisa Bluder. “There used to be games in which you could pencil in a ‘W,' and if your team didn't get the flu, you were going to get it.”

Indiana (8-9, 2-3) sits alongside Iowa and Purdue in a seventh-place tie in the Big Ten. Both teams were beaten Thursday.

The Hoosiers fell to Illinois, 74-67, while Iowa dropped a 63-60 heartbreaker at league-leading Michigan State.

Iowa scrambled back from a late eight-point deficit to tie it, just to tumble when Kalisha Keane swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“Obiously, it was a tough loss,” said Iowa's Jaime Printy. “But we're not a team to give up, and we're not a team to hang our heads.”

Printy scored 23 points at East Lansing, 18 in the first half. She has developed into much more than an outside shooter.

“Some people say I'm quicker this year,” she said. “I feel stronger and quicker.”

Jori Davis leads Indiana at 18.4 points per game. She has already shot 143 free throws, making 111.