Sunday, January 4, 2009

Iowa 65, Indiana 60.

Here are the stats. Not surprisingly, many are describing yesterday's loss as a moral victory. I'm not so sure. IU is going to have a seriously limited number of opportunities to win Big Ten games this season, and it's disappointing to pass up such an opportunity. Despite trailing by 13 on a couple of occasions in the second half, IU pulled to within two points on two Matt Roth free throws with 22 seconds remaining.

IU's offensive efficiency number of 1.045 points per shot was IU's best of the year against a major opponent, and while the slow pace of 57 possessions exaggerates it, IU's 11 turnovers amounted to IU's second best turnover percentage of the season, 19.2. IU didn't shoot particularly well, so the increased offensive production seems most closely related to the lack of turnovers. IU rebounded reasonably well and got to the line often. Unfortunately, everything that IU did, Iowa did just a bit better. IU got to the line. Iowa got to the line more. IU had only 11 turnovers. Iowa had only 10. And so on. IU did do a decent job on the perimeter defensively. Ordinarily, Iowa takes 48 percent of its shots from behind the arc and makes 40 percent of them. Yesterday, Iowa took only 32 percent of its shots from three point range and made only 35 percent. Still, it's not clear whether that was because of IU's defense or because Cyrus Tate was incredible, scoring 22 points on 6-6 from the field andf 10-11 from the line. Finally, Iowa's leading scorer, Anthony Tucker, did not play.

I'm not sure exactly what to take from this game. As I said in the preview, Iowa isn't a particularly imposing team, and they were missing a key player. IU's progress this year has not been linear, so I am hesitant to think that we have turned the corner. Still, this game provides some optimism about IU's ability to hold on for a few home wins. As for the individuals:
  • Pritchard was okay, scoring 11 points on 7 shots, but was in foul trouble, as were several other Hoosiers.
  • Nick Williams had his best day as a Hoosier, scoring 14 points on 7-11 from the field.
  • Devan Dumes scored 12 points on 8 shots, despite 2-8 from the field, thanks to 6-6 from the line.
IU plays at home against Michigan on Wednesday. The Wolverines are now 1-1 in the Big Ten after losing at home to Wisconsin and beating Illinois, also at home. Michigan has non-conference wins over Duke and UCLA, but hasn't won a true road game yet. More on that game later.

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