PREMIUM
Rogers' Tuesday ESPN SHOWCASE ($25) >> BACK 2 BACK SWEEPS! 7-1 Run!
(NCAAB) Indiana vs. Iowa,
Point Spread: 2.00 | -111.00 Indiana (Away)
Result: Loss
Point Spread: 2.00 | -111.00 Indiana (Away)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The 15-12 Indiana Hoosiers take their 5-9 Big Ten record to Iowa City to face the 14-13 Iowa Hawkeyes, who are not much better in league play at 6-8. Iowa's at-large chances are almost nil and Indiana's are heading towards nil fast, after four consecutive losses and six in the last seven games!
Indiana: How the mighty have fallen. The Hoosiers opened the season as the AP's 11th-ranked team and in the Armed Forces Classic over in Honolulu back on Nov 11, took down the AP's 3rd-ranked team Kansas, 103-99 in OT. When the Hoosiers met Butler in Indianapolis on Dec 17, they were 8-1 and ranked 9th (had earlier been as high as No. 3!). However, Indiana lost to Butler and not much has gone right since, as doing the math, the Hoosiers are 7-11 since that 8-1 start.The team's recent slide has severely jeopardized its chances for an at-large bid. It's been a injury-plagued stretch but leading scorer James Blackmon Jr. (17.0 & 4.8) and 6-8 sophomore forward Juwan Morgan (7.0 & 5.3) both played well in Indiana's recent 75-74 hard-luck loss at Minnesota. Blackmon scored 22 in his third game back from a leg injury and Morgan had 14 points for his best output since returning from a foot issue last month. Junior guard Robert Johnson ranks second on the team in scoring (13.2 & 4.2) but is trending in the opposite direction while averaging 4.3 points on 4-of-24 shooting in his last three games. The 6-10 Bryant (13.1 & 7.0) is a solid contributor (although he's averaged just 8.0 PPG on 6-of-22 shooting over his last two games) but a real 'killer' was the 6-8 Anunoby (11.1 & 5.7) being lost for the season with a knee injury in mid-January.
Iowa: Senior guard Peter Jok leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.4) but overall, Fran McCaffrey's team is young. Freshman forward Tyler Cook is the only Hawkeye other than Jok scoring in double digits (11.7 & 4.5), while freshman guard Jordan Bohannon tops the team in assists (4.4) and avergages 9.2 PPG. The Hawkeyes' losing streak stands at three following a 70-66 home loss to Illinois on Saturday. "Sometimes you've got to go through it, and experience it - the good, the bad," coach Fran McCaffery told reporters. "You know, if you're out of the game, what did your teammates do right? What did they do wrong?"
The pick: Both teams score well, as Indiana ranks second in the Big Ten at 80.3 PPG and Iowa third at 79.9. Indiana misses Anunoby but is getting healthier and a late-season run is not hard to imagine. The Hoosiers have won five of the last six meetings overall with the Hawkeyes, including two straight in Iowa City. Make it three straight, as Indiana is an 8* play.
Indiana: How the mighty have fallen. The Hoosiers opened the season as the AP's 11th-ranked team and in the Armed Forces Classic over in Honolulu back on Nov 11, took down the AP's 3rd-ranked team Kansas, 103-99 in OT. When the Hoosiers met Butler in Indianapolis on Dec 17, they were 8-1 and ranked 9th (had earlier been as high as No. 3!). However, Indiana lost to Butler and not much has gone right since, as doing the math, the Hoosiers are 7-11 since that 8-1 start.The team's recent slide has severely jeopardized its chances for an at-large bid. It's been a injury-plagued stretch but leading scorer James Blackmon Jr. (17.0 & 4.8) and 6-8 sophomore forward Juwan Morgan (7.0 & 5.3) both played well in Indiana's recent 75-74 hard-luck loss at Minnesota. Blackmon scored 22 in his third game back from a leg injury and Morgan had 14 points for his best output since returning from a foot issue last month. Junior guard Robert Johnson ranks second on the team in scoring (13.2 & 4.2) but is trending in the opposite direction while averaging 4.3 points on 4-of-24 shooting in his last three games. The 6-10 Bryant (13.1 & 7.0) is a solid contributor (although he's averaged just 8.0 PPG on 6-of-22 shooting over his last two games) but a real 'killer' was the 6-8 Anunoby (11.1 & 5.7) being lost for the season with a knee injury in mid-January.
Iowa: Senior guard Peter Jok leads the Big Ten in scoring (20.4) but overall, Fran McCaffrey's team is young. Freshman forward Tyler Cook is the only Hawkeye other than Jok scoring in double digits (11.7 & 4.5), while freshman guard Jordan Bohannon tops the team in assists (4.4) and avergages 9.2 PPG. The Hawkeyes' losing streak stands at three following a 70-66 home loss to Illinois on Saturday. "Sometimes you've got to go through it, and experience it - the good, the bad," coach Fran McCaffery told reporters. "You know, if you're out of the game, what did your teammates do right? What did they do wrong?"
The pick: Both teams score well, as Indiana ranks second in the Big Ten at 80.3 PPG and Iowa third at 79.9. Indiana misses Anunoby but is getting healthier and a late-season run is not hard to imagine. The Hoosiers have won five of the last six meetings overall with the Hawkeyes, including two straight in Iowa City. Make it three straight, as Indiana is an 8* play.
