Iowa 91, No. 15 Indiana 89: Comeback Kids

There was a lot of deja vu to the start of Thursday night's game with Iowa and #15 Indiana. Another terrible start and huge early deficit for the Hawkeyes, and another spirited comeback. But the similarities ended there -- after failing to get over the hump against Penn State in a loss on Sunday, Iowa completed the comeback tonight against the Hoosiers, rallying for as many as 21 points down to knock off #15 Indiana, 89-87.

A thrilling win over the #15 team in the country and the third-biggest comeback in program history seem like pretty good ways to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Carver-Hawkeye Arena, which first hosted a basketball game back on January 5, 1983. Early on, it didn't seem like Iowa would have much to celebrate -- Iowa looked flat out of the gate and couldn't buy a shot in the early going. Indiana, meanwhile, couldn't miss and quickly jumped out to a 20-4 lead. That lead grew to 21 (28-7) and while Iowa finally got going a bit on offense (Payton Sandfort and Connor McCaffery combined for nine straight points for Iowa), it still didn't look good when Fran, incensed at the officiating (for neither the first nor the last time tonight) got a technical foul. The T may or may not have impacted how the officials called the game after that (the officiating overall was fairly poor in this game, but the whistles were pretty even both ways, but it did seem to light an overdue spark under Iowa.

Iowa went on an 11-0 run after the Hoosiers pushed the lead to 35-15, which got the deficit into single-digits for the first time since the first few minutes of the game. Both teams went back-and-forth for the rest of the half; Iowa got the IU lead as low as 5 points, but the Hoosiers pushed it back to 10 points with a 5-0 run in the final minute before the break. Indiana went to the break with a 50-40 lead after shooting the lights out -- 66% from the floor and an absurd 71% from 3-point range.

Out of the break, both teams looked energized at the start of the second half and traded baskets for the first few minutes. But Iowa finally started to get a few stops on defense (switching to more zone looks seemed to unsettle the Hoosiers and got them out of the rhythm that had torched Iowa in the first half) while still converting shots on the offensive end. Iowa put together a 15-4 run from the 16-minute mark to the 12-minute mark that tied the game at 61-all after a Kris Murray three-pointer. Filip Rebraca gave Iowa its first lead of the game on the next possession, off a layup secured with expert positioning on a fast break.

Iowa built out its lead a few times after that, but was never able to get the lead above 4 points. When the Hoosiers went on a 12-2 run with just under four minutes to play, it seemed like Iowa had run out of gas after their furious comeback. Nope. Iowa answered with their own 9-0 run, courtesy several free throws by Connor McCaffery and Filip Rebraca, as well as a smooth transition layup by Murray. In fact, after going up 84-78 with 3:42 to play, Indiana made zero field goals and just five free throws the rest of the game. Iowa's biggest stop of the game came with 0:12 to play, as Murray got fingertips on a Jalen Hood-Schifino shot and blocked it. Iowa played the free throw-and-foul game after that and worked it to perfection, earning the 91-89 win.

Kris Murray was outstanding once again, finishing with 30 points and 10 rebounds on 11/18 shooting (3/6 from 3-point range). He made big shot after big shot and big play after big play when Iowa needed him to do so tonight and showed off the full range of his offensive game, burying the Hoosiers from deep, cutting them apart in transition, working the glass for put-back opportunities, and converting free throw opportunities. Murray wasn't the only Iowa player with a double-double in this game, though -- Filip Rebraca also had an impressive night, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds on 7/11 shooting before fouling out late in the game. Rebraca had his hands full with IU's talented post players (especially Trayce Jackson-Davis), but he didn't back down and showed how much better (and how much more confident) he's gotten this season, especially on the offensive end. His positioning in this game was frequently excellent. Murray and Rebraca were especially brilliant in the second half, scoring 33 of Iowa's 51 points after the break.

Also very good for Iowa in this game: Connor McCaffery, who finished with 16, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds on 4/9 shooting (2/6 from deep). Connor was inserted into the starting lineup in place of his brother Patrick and he responded with one of his more aggressive displays on offense in his Iowa career; he was not just setting up around the perimeter and hoisting threes or trying to deliver entry passes -- he was actively probing and attacking the defense, trying to attack the rim often. Iowa needed a third scorer to step up and McCaffery more than filled that role.

Tony Perkins was the fourth Iowa starter to finish in double figures (10 points), but he had a much more up-and-down night. He was just 3/12 from the field (0/2 from deep) and had trouble finishing against IU's post players. He did have a team-high four assists and a steal, but he also had three turnovers, including some particularly costly giveaways during Indiana's final second half run.

Finally, Iowa got a strong contribution off the bench from Payton Sandfort, who finally made some shots in Big Ten play and finished with 11 points on 4/9 shooting, along with 4 rebounds and 2 assists. It was a relief to see a few baskets finally go in for Sandfort and hopefully it gives him some needed confidence for Iowa's upcoming games -- the Hawkeyes will need him to provide consistent production while Patrick McCaffery is away from the court. A full box score is available here.

The effort Iowa showed in coming back in this game was impressive, especially after that disastrous start. After losing three games in a row and suffering another cripplingly slow start in this game, it would have been easy for the Iowa players to throw in the towel. Instead, they kept chipping away at the Hoosier lead -- and finished off the comeback in the second half. Kudos also to the Carver-Hawkeye crowd; it wasn't a sellout, but the fans in attendance had a lot of energy, which seemed to rub off on the Iowa players, especially in the second half.

Iowa returns to the road to take on a very tough Rutgers team (11-4, 3-1 Big Ten) in Piscataway, NJ on Sunday, January 8 (11 AM CT, BTN). The Scarlet Knights already have two Big Ten wins this week, knocking off Purdue in West Lafayette on Monday and cruising by Maryland at home on Thursday. Rutgers ranks 3rd in the nation in defensive efficiency this season.