Hawk Talk Monthly — February 2018 | Fight For Iowa | Hawkeye Fan Shop — A Black & Gold Store | PHOTO GALLERY | Box Score (PDF) | Boxscore
By DARREN MILLER
hawkeyesports.com
IOWA CITY, Iowa — It was a game with everything.
The University of Iowa men’s basketball team built a 13-point lead in the first half, battled back from a 13-point deficit in the second half, made its first 10 field goals, and shot 55 percent from the field for the game.
But the Hawkeyes misfired on two attempts in the final four seconds Saturday and lost to Indiana, 84-82, in front of 15,229 on Mediacom Court inside Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
The end-of-game drama was set up after Iowa junior Nicholas Baer called timeout with 9.1 seconds left. The Hawkeyes were looking for sophomore Tyler Cook on the in-bound, but he was covered. They looked for freshman Luka Garza, but he was covered. Sophomore Maishe Dailey got the ball to sophomore Jordan Bohannon, who sent a 3-point attempt toward the rim with four seconds to go.
“It felt like a good look,” Bohannon said. “I have made those shots hundreds of thousands of times in practice. It felt good out of my hand.”
The shot was no good, but Cook pulled down his fifth offensive rebound and launched a potential game-tying field goal that bounced off the rim as time expired.
“I wasn’t sure how much time was left,” Cook said. “I tried to get it on the rim and I failed to do so.”
Indiana (16-12 overall, 9-7 Big Ten) shot 60 percent in the second half and held on for its fourth straight win; Iowa is 12-17, 3-13.
Cook put together a monster game with 28 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Garza scored 11 points in the first half on 5-of-5 shooting and finished with 17. Bohannon scored 10 points, all in the second half, and added a game-high seven assists.
Indiana’s Robert Johnson topped everyone by making 9-of-12 3-point field goals for a career-high 29 points.
Iowa led, 45-42, at halftime after shooting 71 percent from the field over the first 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes made 17 of 24 field goals and 5 of 9 from 3-point. They had a 39-30 lead with 3:33 left in the half before Indiana closed by making five straight field goals — including back-to-back 3-pointers from Johnson — to reduce Iowa’s margin to three points at the break.
Iowa’s 10th straight made field goal of the game — a 3-pointer by Dailey — gave the Hawkeyes their largest lead at 23-10 with 13:39 left in the half. At that point, Iowa was 10 of 10 from the field with three 3-point field goals. The Hawkeyes also held a 6-0 rebounding advantage.
Iowa dominated on the glass, 33-19, in a game with everything.
Everything except a dramatic Hawkeye victory.
QUOTING COACH MCCAFFERY
“If there was disappointment, it was the run (Indiana) made in the second half, more so than anything that happened in the first half. We got a lead, we got content to trade, we didn’t extend it.”
The game was tied, 56-56, with 15:08 left in the game. The Hoosiers then went on a 13-0 run over the next four minutes. Cook tied the game at 82 with two made free throws with 1:50 remaining.
STATISTICS OF THE GAME
Iowa started the game by making its first 10 field goals (and all three 3-point attempts). But it was a combination of Indiana guards Johnson and Devonte Green, who made 13-of-17 from distance, that provided the Hoosiers with their biggest boost.
WORTH NOTING
Bohannon made two free throws with 3:43 left in the game, extending his consecutive streak of made free throws to 32.
UP NEXT
The Hawkeyes play their final road game of the regular season Wednesday at Minnesota (14-14, 3-12). Iowa won the first meeting, 94-80, on Jan. 30 in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. The Gophers play at Wisconsin on Monday.
