While Bloomington is covered in snow and ice, Indiana men’s basketball is aiming to keep its hot streak rolling forward. The Hoosiers (13-3, 4-1 Big Ten) have won five consecutive games entering their 8 p.m. tipoff Saturday against Iowa (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City, Iowa.
It’s the start of an arduous stretch for Indiana, which will play strictly Quad 1 opponents in its next 11 games — perhaps the deciding span for the Hoosiers’ hopes of making the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years under head coach Mike Woodson.
Since returning to Big Ten play full-time Jan. 2, Indiana is 3-0, with two of its wins coming by double figures. The Hoosiers topped Rutgers 84-74 at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Jan. 2, took a 77-71 win over Penn State on Jan. 5 at The Palestra in Philadelphia and surged from behind to beat USC 82-69 on Wednesday at home.
Iowa, meanwhile, has split its past two conference games, falling 116-85 at Wisconsin on Jan. 3 before a 97-87 overtime win against Nebraska on Tuesday.
The Hoosiers hold a 107-82 edge in the all-time series and won the last meeting 74-68 on Jan. 30, 2024.
Meet the Hawkeyes
Iowa has the Big Ten’s top scoring offense, averaging 89.9 points per game, while shooting a conference-best 39.1% from 3-point range under 15th-year head coach Fran McCaffery.
The Hawkeyes are one of two teams in the Big Ten with multiple players among the conference’s top 10 leading scorers, as 6-foot-10 sophomore forward Owen Freeman and 6-foot-8 senior forward Payton Sandfort rank ninth and 10th, respectively. Freeman averages 16.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, while Sandfort scores 16.5 points and pulls down 5.8 rebounds per game.
Freeman and Sandfort aside, Iowa has four other players who average at least 9 points per game.
Junior guard Josh Dix averages 14.8 points per game and shoots 45.5% from distance on nearly five attempts per night. Fifth-year senior guard Drew Thelwell scores 10.1 points per game, and sophomore forward Pryce Sandfort, Payton’s brother, averages 9.3 points per game. Thelwell and Pryce Sandfort both shoot above 40% from deep.
Sophomore guard Brock Harding is the Hawkeyes’ leading distributor, dishing 5.9 assists per night while scoring 9.7 points per game.
Iowa is 9-1 at home this season, with its lone loss coming to No. 3 Iowa State University on Dec. 12. Woodson lost his first four games coaching against the Hawkeyes, two of which came on the road, before Indiana took the only meeting last season.
“They're well-coached,” Woodson said Wednesday about the Hawkeyes. “We are going to have to go down there and play for 40 minutes to beat Iowa. That's how good they are at home.”
Indiana starts gauntlet
The Hoosiers’ four Big Ten wins are over teams with a combined record of 4-15 in conference play. Minnesota is winless, while Rutgers and USC have one win apiece. Penn State is 2-3.
Indiana won’t complain about its strength of competition thus far, but the Hoosiers’ road will be considerably tougher moving forward. Woodson’s squad has played four games against Quad 1 opponents this season — the University of Louisville, Gonzaga University, Nebraska and Penn State — and it’s been outscored by 55 points. The Nittany Lions were Indiana’s lone win.
From Saturday night’s tipoff through a Feb. 23 home game against Purdue, the Hoosiers have 11 straight games against Quad 1 teams, which means home games against those in the top 30 of the NET rankings or road games against those in the top 75.
By the end of the stretch, Indiana will have only four games left in its regular season. Thus, by all accounts, the road ahead will dictate the Hoosiers’ season — but they’re taking a one-game-at-a-time approach and have their eyes set on the Hawkeyes.
“We're focused on our next game, which is Iowa,” fifth-year senior guard Trey Galloway said Wednesday. “Whenever you go on the road, it's always challenging, and you got to bring it.”
Broadcast information
Saturday night’s game will be broadcast on FOX, with Cory Provus handling play-by-play duties alongside analyst LaPhonso Ellis.
Follow reporters Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) and Quinn Richards (@Quinn_richa) and columnist Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
