If momentum is a real thing that carries over from game to game, round two of Iowa-Indiana won’t resemble round one.
Iowa (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten) enters the regular season’s final week fresh off one of the greatest comebacks in not only program but NCAA history. The Hawkeyes erased a 13-point deficit against Michigan State in the final 1:34 of regulation to force overtime.
Payton Sandfort’s game-tying 3-pointer just before the end of the second half sent the game into the bonus session all notched up at 101 apiece. From there, Kris Murray and Tony Perkins did the rest in overtime. Iowa won 112-106 and became just the fourth team in men’s Division I history to win after trailing by 11 or more with a minute to play in regulation.
Interestingly enough, Iowa also registered a historic comeback earlier this season against its opponent tonight. The Hawkeyes completed the third-largest comeback in program history back on Jan. 5 against then-No. 19 Indiana, rallying from 21 points down to win, 91-89.
Kris Murray was the primary catalyst that night for Iowa, scoring 30 points and reeling in 10 rebounds for a double-double. Filip Rebraca also double-doubled with 19 points and 10 boards.
“I think it says a lot about the character of our team because you guys have all seen a lot of games over the years, the biggest mistake teams make in a situation like that, you always hear us say, don’t try to get it back all at once. What does that mean? You start quick shooting the ball, you start taking an inordinate amount of threes and then now they’re running it back and they’re dunking the ball and all of a sudden 21 becomes 31 and you have no shot.
“We just tried to press them a little, be active in our zone, and execute our offense the way we planned, because early on we couldn’t get anything to drop. We had a couple good looks, they didn’t go, and they were capitalizing. I was just really pleased with our composure at that point,” Iowa head men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery said after the Indiana win earlier this season.
Obviously, Iowa would like to avoid the necessity for any similar theatrics tonight. Here’s how fans can watch, stream and listen to tonight’s contest.
Plus, a look at the key players, injury report and series history between the Hawkeyes and the Hoosiers.