Hoosiers to take on No. 22 Hawkeyes Saturday

When IU defeated then-No. 22 Iowa on Jan. 2, it was the team’s first win this season against a Big Ten team ranked in the top 25.

More than three weeks later, the Hoosiers are 2-4 with losses against Ohio State, Wisconsin, Purdue and most recently Penn State. The only other game it won was against Minnesota at home on Jan. 19.

The Hoosiers will face Hawkeyes for the second and final time during the regular season when the team travels to Iowa City, Iowa Saturday for a 7 p.m. rematch.

In the first matchup, IU held on at home to defeat Iowa 86-84. The Hawkeyes have found greater success than the Hoosiers since that last game, going 3-2 since.

The players had three days to prepare for the game on Jan. 4. However, after the threat of inclement weather forced the Purdue game to be rescheduled, the team was thrust into a stretch of three games in five days, with only one day of preparation for each.

The home victory against Iowa showed the Hoosiers they were capable of beating ranked teams when they have an ample amount of preparation.

IU Coach Curt Miller has previously said the team prides itself on scouting.

“The hardest part is we’re a scout-heavy team,” said Miller, speaking the day before his team’s Jan. 17 game against Purdue. “We really believe in analyzing opponents and opponents’ sets.”

Once the compact schedule hit, Miller said players and coaches only had day prep and the two-hour time block each team receives before tip-off to prepare between the Wisconsin and Purdue games.

The effects of the schedule are evident.

The game against Penn State on Wednesday was the fourth game in seven days. In that stretch, IU shot a combined 87-of-275, or 31.6 percent, from the field.

On Saturday, it will face a team that ranks eighth in the Big Ten in field goal percent defense. The Hawkeyes have held opponents to an average field goal percentage of 38.6 percent.

Although its defense ranks near the bottom of the Big Ten, Iowa boasts the top scoring offense in the Big Ten.

The Hawkeyes have been averaging 81.2 points per game as a team. The Hoosiers’ 73.8 points per game rank sixth in the conference.

Iowa has not been ranked in the AP Top 25 or Coaches Poll since its loss to the Hoosiers in the first week of January. IU hasn’t been in the AP Top 25 poll since it lost to Ohio State.

“We’re trying to build something and we’ve got a long way to go,” Miller said.

Follow reporter Stuart Jackson on Twitter @Stuart_Jackson1