In blowout loss to Iowa, IU basketball’s season outlook takes a hit

  • Jan 12, 2025 7:39 am in

IOWA CITY, Iowa — All Mike Woodson could do was stare. Not muster any visible anger or frustration, but hold his chin in his palm and stare.

Indiana men’s basketball’s 85-60 blowout loss to Iowa Saturday night at Carver-Hawkeye Arena was already determined. But as the Hawkeyes corralled four consecutive offensive rebounds with less than four minutes remaining — ultimately leading to a bucket for Iowa senior forward Payton Sandfort — the Hoosiers looked lost and lifeless.

Woodson’s team rode a five-game winning streak into Iowa’s home court, seeking to prove its recent successes were no fluke. But in the first of 11 straight Quad 1 matchups, Indiana floundered. Each of those Hawkeye rebounds served as a reminder that the Hoosiers aren’t where they should be and perhaps even further away than anticipated.

“It kind of was like an avalanche,” sophomore guard Myles Rice said postgame. “One thing led to another, and it kept going on all night.”

The spiral wasn’t unprecedented, either in this season or through the rest of Woodson’s tenure. Indiana has often been prone to lopsided defeats against Big Ten foes in recent years, especially on the road. Saturday’s rout marked the Hoosiers’ fourth loss of the year and all four came by at least 16 points.

Woodson didn’t issue any concern about the team’s effort. While energy and hustle may have plagued Indiana in previous losses, Saturday’s wasn’t for lack of trying. Senior center Oumar Ballo turned the ball over four times within the first six minutes and clapped his hands in anger after being relegated to the bench.

“Ballo’s been playing pretty well for us,” Woodson said. “Tonight, he was doing things he hadn’t been doing in this five-game stretch. It wasn’t just Ballo – it was everybody had a hand in it, especially that starting group.”

In addition to Ballo, Rice, sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako and senior guard Trey Galloway tallied multiple turnovers before the end of the first half. By the conclusion of the first 20 minutes, the Hoosiers had given the ball away 12 times and the Hawkeyes capitalized for 17 points off those blunders.

Aside from an 11-0 run to take a brief lead, Indiana’s offense was shaky and haphazard.

“When you have 17 points given to them, based on us just hand delivering the basketball, you’re not going to beat very many teams in the Big Ten doing that,” Woodson said.

While Rice orchestrated spurts of strong offense, he too seemed to overcompensate and attempt to create plays where they weren’t available. The early turnovers, Rice said, necessitated a false sense of urgency.

“That kind of puts in your head, like ‘now we have to get those plays back,’” Rice said. “It’s kind of hard to try to do that and be in your same flow, but it happens. We just got to be better from the start and be able to play through all 40 minutes.”

Early in the second half, IU’s bad habits persisted. Galloway telegraphed a pass stolen by Drew Thelwell, and, after darting back on defense, fouled the Iowa senior guard on his layup attempt. Galloway’s third turnover and third foul immediately led to Woodson calling for senior guard Anthony Leal off the bench.

Be it Indiana’s shot selection, turnover tendencies, porous defense or any combination of the three, it was wholly uncompetitive in a game that felt like it could drastically sway the narrative surrounding this team. It was always going to be a difficult task, given Iowa’s offensive firepower and the nature of conference road games. But for the Hoosiers, the five games sprinkled in hope that they may have turned a corner. Saturday was a massive step in the opposite direction.

Early in the season, Woodson said he didn’t know what Indiana’s identity was. After Indiana topped USC 82-69 on Jan. 8, he had an answer, citing scrappiness, defending, rebounding the ball as a unit and getting out in transition. Over the last three games, albeit against slightly lesser Big Ten competition, that identity was clear.

With junior forward Malik Reneau sidelined with a right knee injury, Ballo shined as the go-to post option and dominated on both ends. Saturday, Ballo and the rest of the Hoosiers crashed back toward Earth.

“When you go out on the road in the Big Ten, you can’t turn it over, you got to rebound with your opponent, and you got to make shots,” Woodson said. “We failed in all three areas tonight. That’s something you can’t have when you go out on the road.”

It’s entirely possible that Indiana will reverse course and string together games of promising play again. There have been impressive highs and depressing lows, but the reality likely rests somewhere in the middle.

But is that enough for Indiana, ranked widely among the top three in the Big Ten throughout the preseason? Woodson stockpiled a decorated transfer class meant to boost his team’s chances at a deep postseason run and thus far has generally underwhelmed.

Like after a rough showing in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in November, Indiana remains with plenty of questions. There’s a quick turnaround to the Hoosiers’ next contest when they host Illinois on Tuesday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.

Indiana is a perfect 11-0 at home but faces one of the toughest opponents it has all season in the No. 13 Illini. The Hoosiers’ resilience will undoubtedly be tested. Soon, the urgency will start to mount for resume-building victories.

Saturday marked a blown opportunity in that aspect and for the postseason hopes to remain remotely intact, Indiana can’t afford to let many more slip away.

(Photo credit: Big Ten Basketball on X)

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