After scoring 103 in previous matchup, IU can’t find rhythm in road loss to Iowa

The IU men’s basketball team scored 103 points against Iowa three weeks ago, which was the most it had scored in a Big Ten game since 1995.

On Sunday, it was a different story.

The No. 18/20 Hoosiers (20-7, 8-7) couldn’t muster the same offensive effort and lost 78-66 to Iowa (14-13, 6-8) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.

“It’s pretty disappointing,” IU junior guard Jordan Hulls said. “We did not play the way we needed to play and give credit to Iowa. They came in and played a lot harder than we did. They out-rebounded us and outdid us in pretty much everything.”

Hulls, along with a couple of IU’s usual scoring suspects, struggled to get into a rhythm offensively. Hulls, senior guard Verdell Jones III and junior forward Christian Watford combined for three points.

“We just didn’t get enough good basketball from enough guys,” Crean said. “When you go on the road, it’s different than at home. You can withstand a couple guys not playing as well at home. But on the road, no, you’re not going to do that.”

The loss continued IU’s conference woes away from Assembly Hall, dropping the Hoosiers’ Big Ten road record to 2-6.

“It’s tough, but there are going to be nights like that, especially on the road,” IU sophomore guard Victor Oladipo said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to get stops. Life isn’t perfect and neither is basketball. Some days, you’re not going to be able to hit all the shots you want to, and today we weren’t hitting a lot of shots.”

Despite getting off to an early 8-4 lead, IU squandered the advantage by turning the ball over five times in the first four minutes.

Watford said IU didn’t do a good enough job handling the Hawkeyes’ defensive pressure.

“We weren’t strong with the ball,” Watford said. “That’s basically all it boils down to.”

After the Hoosiers lost their early lead, they were never able to answer. IU failed to narrow the double-digit deficit to single digits in the second half.

Crean said the lack of offensive rhythm forced him to rotate guys sooner than he would have liked.

“We made a good run in the second half and cut it to 10. We were playing in shifts and quick segments to try and get back into the game,” Crean said. “I’d like to have a couple substitutions back, basically.”

But IU fell victim to the hot shooting of Iowa senior guard Matt Gatens, who led all scorers with a career-high 30 points and hit five 3-pointers in the final 7:17 of the game.

“When we cut it to 10, we felt like we were still right there in the game, and we felt like we could continue to pressure them,” Crean said. “Then when (Gatens) hit those shots, we couldn’t overcome it.”

At night’s end, four IU players finished with double-digit points. But Crean said nobody was able to establish an offensive rhythm to form any sort of run.

“We didn’t have great flow because there were a couple guys that it just wasn’t their day,” Crean said. “To be on the court for an extended period of time, they just weren’t playing well.”

The loss snapped IU’s three-game winning streak and marked the fourth time the Hoosiers fell in Iowa City.

In order to get ready for a non-conference showdown with North Carolina Central on Wednesday night, Crean said IU needs to come out more aggressive than it did Sunday.

“It started with our lack of ability on the glass and our lack of attacking the pressure the way that we needed to,” Crean said. “That’s where we’ve got to improve as we get ready for the next game.”