Indiana’s 13-day layoff involves an finish tonight when the Hoosiers tackle Iowa at Carver-Hawkeye Enviornment. The Hawkeyes are 8-6 general and 0-3 in Huge Ten play.
Thursday’s recreation will tip at roughly 9 p.m. ET on FS1:
Indiana resumes Huge Ten play tonight in Iowa Metropolis towards an Iowa group that’s scuffling. The Hawkeyes have misplaced three straight video games, together with a 92-83 setback on Dec. 21 towards KenPom bottom-feeder Jap Illinois.
Indiana gained its final two video games, however loads of query marks concerning the course of this season persist. The Hoosiers are a stable 10-3 general however are actually with out level guard Xavier Johnson (foot) for the foreseeable future. Trayce Jackson-Davis has additionally been sidelined just lately by a sore again, bringing his standing into query on a game-to-game foundation.
MEET THE HAWKEYES
Iowa has among the finest NBA prospects within the Huge Ten in junior wing Kris Murray. The 6-foot-8 lefty got here off the bench and scored 29 factors towards Indiana in an 83-74 Hawkeye win final January.
Along with his twin brother Keegan now within the NBA as a Sacramento King, Kris Murray is the clear No. 1 choice for Fran McCaffery. Murray’s 20.4 factors per recreation lead the Hawkeyes and was just lately named to the Wood Award midseason watch record, inserting him among the many high 25 gamers within the nation.
Together with the scoring, Murray additionally leads Iowa in rebounding at 9.8 per recreation. He’s taking pictures 50.3 % general from the sphere and 37.1 % on 3s. He’s solely attending to the free throw line a mean of 4 instances per recreation and is taking pictures a stellar 77.5 % from the stripe. From a matchup perspective, Mike Woodson may need to strive a wide range of defenders to decelerate Murray. This might be a chance for Jordan Geronimo to earn extra minutes if he can keep on with Murray on the perimeter and gradual him down on the offensive glass.
Filip Rebraca begins on the 5 for Iowa and is quietly placing collectively a incredible season. The 6-foot-9 heart from Serbia transferred to Iowa earlier than final season and has blossomed into a daily double-figure scorer. Rebraca’s 14.1 factors per recreation are second on the group as are his 8.4 rebounds per recreation. He additionally has a team-high 20 blocked pictures. Rebraca is taking pictures 61.2 % on 2s and is 2-for-5 on 3-pointers this season. Free throw taking pictures is a weak point for the Serbian. He’s taking pictures simply 59.7 % from the road this season.
The Hawkeyes will likely be with out Patrick McCaffery for tonight’s recreation and certain past that. McCaffery introduced earlier within the week that he’s taking a depart from the group to take care of anxiousness.
With out McCaffery, Iowa will possible go together with smaller lineups that includes Rebraca on the 5, Murray on the 4 with three guards/wings.
The lead guard within the Iowa rotation is Indianapolis native and junior Tony Perkins. Pegged as a possible breakout candidate earlier than the season, the 6-foot-4 guard has struggled along with his taking pictures this season. Perkins is taking pictures 41.5 % general from the sphere and 33.3 % on 3s. His 11.3 factors per recreation are third on the group. Perkins may be an explosive athlete going to the rim and Indiana can be effectively served to restrict his alternatives in transition.
Sophomore wing Payton Sandfort was a starter for the season’s first six video games and once more within the loss to Jap Illinois, however performed fewer than 10 minutes within the losses to Nebraska and Penn State. The 6-foot-7 wing from Waukee, Iowa shot a stellar 36.6 % on 3s final season however is connecting at a fee of simply 21.5 % this season. With McCaffery out, Sandfort will possible get a shot at an elevated function.
The remainder of the Iowa backcourt rotation consists of Connor McCaffery, Aaron Ulis, Dasonte Bowen and Josh Dix.
The older McCaffery has began three of the group’s 13 video games and averages 7.3 factors, 3.9 rebounds and a pair of.4 assists in 25 minutes per recreation.
Ulis has began the final 4 video games however is taking pictures simply 35.1 % from the sphere this season. Bowen, a freshman, performs simply over 13 minutes per recreation and averages 4.9 factors. Dix, a 6-foot-5 freshman from Council Bluffs, is 5-for-14 on 3s this season.
TEMPO-FREE PREVIEW
All stats are legitimate by way of Wednesday’s video games.
Regardless that it performs at an up-tempo tempo, Iowa does a superb job taking good care of the ball. The Hawkeyes rank third within the nation in turnover share at 13.7.
The actual battle for Iowa this yr has been with 3-point taking pictures. The Hawkeyes rank simply 257th within the nation in 3-point taking pictures at 31.7 %. Final season, Iowa was north of 36 % from distance and ranked within the high 50 nationally percentage-wise.
The Hawkeyes, who’ve by no means been recognized for hard-nosed protection underneath McCaffery, don’t ship their opponents to the free-throw line. Iowa ranks 4th within the nation in opponent free throw fee (FTA/FGA) at 18.5. Iowa will attempt to hold Indiana as a jump-shooting group and out of the paint. Whereas the Hoosiers have shot significantly better this season from distance, settling from the perimeter early in possessions will likely be thought-about a hit by Iowa.
Iowa can also be an above-average offensive rebounding group, rating 86th nationally in offensive rebounding share (32). Rebounding and turnovers usually loom massive on the street within the Huge Ten and tonight will likely be no totally different in Iowa Metropolis.
WHAT IT COMES DOWN TO
The KenPom projection is Indiana by 1 with a 52 % probability of victory for the Hoosiers. The Sagarin numbers favor Iowa by lower than half of a degree.
On the varied sportsbooks, Iowa is a 1.5-point favourite at FanDuel, 1-point favourite at Caesars, 1.5-point favourite at BetMGM and a 1.5-point favourite at DraftKings.
There’s lots to be involved about getting into this recreation for Indiana. The 13-day layoff is atypical however might be useful if it allowed a number of the banged-up Hoosiers like Trayce Jackson-Davis to get nearer to full power.
With out Johnson, Indiana will likely be asking quite a lot of Jalen Hood-Schifino in a troublesome surroundings and desires Jackson-Davis to return to close All-American kind. Murray is a troublesome cowl for any group and final season, Indiana had no reply for him in Carver-Hawkeye Enviornment. This recreation, on paper, is a toss-up and the Hawkeyes are prone to play like a group determined to snap a three-game dropping streak.
Filed to: Iowa Hawkeyes
